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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
California State Library Califa/LSTA Grant
http://www.archive.org/details/illustratedalbumOOcolq
Illustrated ,^bum
OF
ALAMEDA COyNTY. CALIFORNIA
ITS
Early History and Progress— Agriculture, Viticulture
and Horticulture— Educational, Hanufacturing
and Railroad Advantages Oakland and
Environs Interior Townships
—Statistics, Etc., Etc.
COMPILED BY
JOS. ALEX. COLQUHOUN,
Secretary Alameda Couvly World's Fair Association.
ILLUSTRATED BY
E. S. MOORE, Oakland, Cal.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA:
Pacific Press Publishing Company.
1893.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Chapter I — Early History and Progress ; . 3
Chapter II — Horticulture, Viticulture, Agriculture. . . 12
Chapter III — Educational Advantages. ... : 16
Chapter IV — Manufacturing Iri<l.u-3trfes 22
Chapter V — Railroads .• 32
Chapter VI — Ecclesiastical and Fraternal xi
580931
Page.
Chapter V'll — Oakland and Its Environs 42
Chapter \'III — Alameda City and Township 52
Chapter IX — Eden Township 54
Chapter X — Murray Township 56
Chapter XI — Washington Township 57
Chapter XII — Descriptive 59
-^>'^%<-^-
Index to Illustrations Indicated by Plates.
Blasdel, H. G. Hon 7
Crellin, John & Sons 3
Curtner, H. : 28
Crowell, H 28
Court House 15
Congregational Church iS
Concannon, James 26
Denison, E. S 12
Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institutio:; . . ; 11
First Presbyterian Church 13
Hastings, Frank S 5
Hall of Records 16
High School Building 25
Murry, M. W 2
Merrill, J. M 6
Map of Alameda County i
Nelson, Charles 14
Perkins, Geo. C 4
Pacific Coast Oil Co 28
Piedmont School Building 24
Pickering, Loring 27
Shinn, James ' 27
Solar Salt Works 21
Smith, J. P 23
Schieftelin, E. L 26
St. Francis de Sales Church 22
Strobridge, J. H 10
University of California 19, 20
Unitarian Church 17
Whipple, Edwin 8
Whipple,J. C 9
Illustrated Album of Alameda County.
INTRODUCTION.
The great territory west of the Rocky Mountains,
extending to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, was com-
paratively unknown prior to the days of 1849. I" the
four decades since that date this unknown territory
has been peopled, five great States and two Territories
founded. These States and Territories are as yet
sparsely settled in comparison with the New England
States and the countries of the Old World, but they
are dotted over with cities, towns, and villages, and
with farms and other industries, the wild children of
the forests of fifty years ago having disappeared, most
of them to the " happy hunting grounds" and the re-
mainder on the government reservations. The area
of this portion of our land is about seven hundred
and fifty-six thousand nine hundred square miles.
(This does not include Alaska, with its five hundred
and seventy-eight thousand two hundred and four
square miles.) On the western shore of this slope,
occupying seven hundred miles out of the twelve hun-
dred on the shore line by a width of from two hun-
dred to two hundred and seventy miles, lies California,
known as the Golden State. Its area is one hundred
and fifty-eight thousand three hundred and sixty
square miles. It lies between longitude 32° 50' and
42° N., and 114° and 124° W. of latitude. By
reason of its peculiar situation it has the most diversi-
fied climate of any State in the Union, and as a conse-
quence its productions are more varied than those of
any other. It is the second in area of the States. On
the line between it and the State of Nevada in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains, it is cold in the winter, with
snow and ice, while at the foot of these mountains, and
between them and the Pacific Ocean, lies a very tem-
perate and almost semi-tropical extent of territory,
upon which the thermometer seldom falls to 32°
above zero. In the greater part of the State, the
heliotrope, fuchsia, and other plants of that nature,
as well as the palms and other ornamental shrub-
bery that are early carried to the greenhouses in
the East, are allowed to grow out-of-doors the en-
tire winter. It is of rare occurrence that any of them
are injured by frost, and many persons born and raised
in the State have only once or twice seen snow within
forty years, except in the mountain ranges.
Of this great State, Alameda (pronounced ala-
may-dah, Spanish, meaning a driveway lined on
each side by trees) County, the subject of this
sketch, is a favorable part. Lying near the west-
ern coast, but 'yet far enough away to escape the
sharp breezes and fogs prevalent along the coast, it
has a most equable and even temperature, protected
by remarkable natural phenomena. The succeeding
pages are designed to set forth in a straightforward
and truthful manner, without any boasting, the pecul-
iar advantages of the county, and its cities and towns
as places of residence, on account of healthful climatic
conditions, its resources, growth, schools, railroads,
etc. These are no overdrawn pictures, but simply
statements of the fact.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY HISTORY AND PROGRESS.
Spanish-American Missions of Alta California — Jolin C.
Fremont, "The Pathfinder" — Mexican War, Raising of the
Bear Flag — Cession of California, Finding of Gold and Ad-
mission into the Union, etc. — Natural Advantages — Health
Statistics — Meteorology, Rainfall, etc.— Material Growth
— County Government.
Alameda County, California, has a liistory dating
back to 1797. During that year, under Governor
Diego de Borica, of the then indefinitely known Span-
ish territory of Alta California, a settlement was made
in the territory now embraced in this county by two
friars, Ysidro Barcinallo and Augustin Merin, who,
on the eighteenth day of June, founded the mission of
San Jose, for the purpose of converting the Indians of
the region to the Roman Catholic faith. An adobe
church was built, and with it other mission buildings,
some of them still standing, but which are fast crum-
bling away, and will soon disappear entirely. The
mission prospered and grew rapidly in influence, out-
stripping the missions of San Francisco and Santa
Clara. In the year 1822 its fathers had baptized no
less than four thousand five hundred and seventy-
three Indians, and its herds covered the hills in the vi-
cinity by the thousands. In 1839 it had upon its rolls
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
of converts the names of twenty-three hundred In-
dians, and these were then Hving in and around the
mission house, tilling the lands and taking care of the
herds. Everything seemed prosperous and happy for
these simple-minded people.
A few years later came the Mexican War with the
United States, the occupation and cession of the terri-
tory to the United States. Prior to this was the secu-
larization and spoliation of the missions, and the decay
and death of the mission brought with them the de-
struction of the Indians, through the vices of civiliza-
tion, as in other parts of the Union, until at this time,
out of the thousands that tilled the land and tended the
flocks for the fathers of Mission de San Jose, not more
than half a hundred survive after fifty years. These
descendants have settled about Pleasanton and Sufiol,
and once a year — on good Friday — visit the old mis-
sion of San Jose.
Of the land in Alameda County only a small por-
tion of it ^vas granted by the Spanish Government to
settlers. Two ranches were patented, however, to
settlers under the rule of Spanish governors. Of
these the first grant was by Governor Don Pablo Vi-
cente de Sala, the last of the Spanish line and first
Mexican governor, to Don Luis Peralta, of the Rancho
de San Antonio, five leagues in extent, being the land
upon which the city of Oakland and its suburbs are
situated. This grant was made in the year 1820. In
the following year Governor de Sala made a grant to
the Rancho de las Tularcitos, partly within the present
borders of Alameda, and partly within Santa Clara
County. During the twenty-five years from 1821 to
1846 thirty grants were made by the Mexican gover-
nors of Alta California, covering lands now within
the borders of Alameda County, principally given as
rewards for faithful military services rendered to the
Mexican Government. The boundaries of the grants
were so indefinite that for many years after passing
into American occupation, much litigation was neces-
sary to determine the metes and bounds, but happily
these are all now settled, and the boundaries definitely
fixed. The last great suit was that of the Rancho el
Sobrante, covering eleven square leagues of land,
granted in 1841 to Juan Jose Castro by Governor Al-
verado. The larger part of this rancho is now within
the borders of Contra Costa County, of which Ala-
meda County was, for a time, a part. Prior to the
American occupation and cession to the United States
of California, only one grant of land was made in the
present boundaries of Alameda County by the Mexi-
can authorities to a foreigner, and that was the rancho
of Las Juntas, three square leagues, in the year 1844,
to William Welch.
This brief resume of the history of Alameda County
would not be complete without a reference to the late
General John C. Fremont, the "Pathfinder." Repassed
through the county in 1846, with a party of forty-two
men, on his way to Oregon. He obtained permission
from Governor Castro to pass through, but the per-
mission was recalled before the start was made. Lieu-
tenant Fremont disregarded the recall, however, and
passed by Mission de San Jose and Alameda Canon,
near Niles, and camped at the lagoon in the valley be-
tween the present sites of Suiiol and Pleasanton. The
Mexicans immediately followed him, and from the
Klamath Lakes he turned back and retraced his way
to meet the Mexican forces upon his trail. When he
reached Sonoma, he found that the " Bear flag" had
been raised there and California declared independent.
Here he learned that war had been declared by the
United States against Mexico, and that Commodore
Sioat had seized Monterey. Fremont raised a force
of volunteers, and, driving the Mexicans before him up
the valley of the San Ramon and down the valley of
the Amador, he stripped Jose Maria Amador, and
drove out all the armed forces of Mexicans from Ala-
meda County toward the south.
After this expedition of Fremont through Alameda
County a number of American families settled upon
the rich lands of the county, and their descendants are
still upon them. Prior to that time the only non-
Mexican resident within the present limits of Alameda
County was an English whaler named Joseph Liver-
more, who had settled upon the Las Positas Rancho,
and in whose honor the town of Livermore, the pass,
and valley are named.
On the discovery of gold by Marshall, at Coloma,
January 19, 1848, there was a rush for the diggings,
and one of the principal highways lay across Alameda
County through the Alameda Canon, via Sunol, the
Livermore Valley, and Livermore Pass, to Stockton.
Where Friars Barcinallo and Merin started the
early missions — Mission San Jose — a good-sized town
sprang up, making it really the first American settle-
ment in Alameda County, as it had been the first
Spanish. The town still exists, though the bulk of
the population has drifted down nearer the bay, but
the old mission is still the center of a very fertile dis-
trict. A number of other towns have also sprung up
adjacent to it, among them Irvington, Niles, Center-
ville and Warm Springs.
The foregoing pertains to Alameda County princi-
pally while under Spanish and Mexican rule. After
the close of the war with Mexico and the cession of
the Territory of Alta California to the United States,
the first Territorial Legislature convened at San Jose,
LJ
_l
Q_
N)/ 3 D 0 3 fJ /3 VJ
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
December 13, 1849, and at the session, the Territory
was divided into twenty-seven great counties. Of
these Contra Costa embraced the territory now in-
cluded in its boundaries as well as a large part of that
now known as Alameda County. On September 9,
1 850, California was admitted to the Union as one of the
States of the great federation, and the subsequent Leg-
islatures divided up the immense counties into smaller
. ones. In 1853 the Legislature created the county of
Alameda, with its present bounds, taking it off Contra
Costa County, as well as a portion of the northerly
end of Santa Clara County. At that time it had a
population of three thousand, and the county seat was
New Haven, now Alvarado. In December, 1854, the
county seat was removed to San Leandro, by a major-
ity vote, but it was ordered back to New Haven on
account of informality in the election. In 1856, by
an act of the Legislature, it went back to San Lean-
dro. San Leandro continued to be the county seat
until 1873, when, after a bitter contest, it was removed
to Oakland. The old Court House building is stand-
ing on East Fourteenth street and Nineteenth avenue,
though now remodeled and used as a dwelling. In
1874 new buildings down town on blocks. on Broad-
way, between Fourth and Fifth streets, were occupied,
which are still in use, though now becoming inadequate
for the present needs of the county. Plates of these
buildings are shown, Nos. 15 and 16. The majority of
the county offices occupy the Hall of Records, in the
block facing the Court House, across Broadway. In the
Court House are now situated four court rooms, the
county supervisors' rooms, the offices of the county
assessor, tax collector, surveyor, district attorney and
sheriff, and the rooms of the law library. The court
business of the county has so increased tliat it was
necessary for the establishment recently of one more
department, and the occupation of the entire building
by the courts and court ohicers is only the question of
a short time.
After the admission of California into the Union, in
1850, Alameda County commenced its -rapid growth
and prosperity. Lying in the way of travel from the
metropolis — San Francisco — to the interior of the
State, towns and villages sprang up along the routes
traversed, and finally spread entirely over it. Early in
1850 the manufacture of salt was commenced, and for
many years the entire State depended upon it for its
saline supply. Until quite recently Alameda was
the only county in the State of California in which
salt was manufactured. It was also the pioneer in
the erection of flouring mills, agricultural and farm-
ing implement factories, and tanneries. The first
smelting works for the reduction of rebellious ores in
the State were erected in this count)^ In 1853 the
culture of fruit, the principal industry in several of the
counties in the State, received its commencement by
the clubbing together of a number of Alameda County *
farmers and sending one of their number East for
trees, making the county early the seat of fruit culture,
for which it has since become noted. In this county,
at Alvarado, in 1869, was erected the first mill and re-
finery in the United States for the manufactm-e of
sugar from beets. The factory has been enlarged and
now does a large and profitable business in sugar
manufacturing. The factory and process of extracting
the sugar is elsewhere specifically described in this
pamphlet. There are also in the county many other
manufacturing industries, such as iron foundries, nail
works, car works, bridge works, smelting works, agri-
cultural machinery works, soap works, fuse works,
borax refinery, tile factories, etc., cotton and jute
mills, planing mills, flouring mills, and many others
which are mentioned in detail in these pages.
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY.
Natural Advantages — Fertility — Freedom from Fogs and
Causes.
The area of Alameda Count)^, while small in com-
parison with some other of the counties in California,
comprises four hundred and fifty-four thousand five
hundred and sixty-five acres, and upward of seven
hundred square miles. Its topography is broken in
its northern and eastern sides by hills and valleys of
the Contra Costa range, the highest peak of which is
that of Mission San Jose, rising two thousand two
hundred and seventy-three feet above sea level.
Among these hills are some of the most fertile valleys
of the State and continent. The largest of these is
the Livermore Valley. Others of the larger valleys
are the Moraga, Suflol, Castro, Amador, and Calaveras.
The western portion of the county lies along the east-
ern shor-e of the Bay of San Francisco for thirty-six
miles, and in coves along the shore are found the
oyster beds from whence were taken the bivalves
in the exhibit. Between the foothills of the range
named and this bay shore lies a fertile plain from five
to twelve miles wide, the hills in no place south of
Berkeley being nearer than five miles. With the ex-
ception of a few salt marshes along the shore line, the
land between it and the foothills consists of a rich al-
luvial soil, adapted to horticulture and agriculture, and
upon which are grown the fine deciduous and citrus
fruits as well as the vegetable and agricultural prod-
ucts in the Alameda County exhibit. In time the
marshes mentioned will undoubtedly be filled in and
become productive lands, bordering on the small
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
streams which flow throug-h them into the ba}' from
the foothills.
In' the fertile valleys in the foothills of the eastern
portion are grown many of the various fruits, both
deciduous and citrus, shown in the county exhibit,
while on the hillsides and in these valleys are produced
the different varieties of grapes for table and the man-
ufacture of wines and brandies. There is a large area
applicable in these valleys and on these hills, that has
not yet been opened up and set out in vines and fruit
trees. They are generally easy of access. In these
vallex's in "the hills the almond and English wal-
nut thrive well and hundreds of acres of them are now
in bearing, the products finding their way to the
Eastern States. The hills are usually rolling and easy
to traverse, the valleys being ea.sy of access. There
are numerous little streams watering the county and
rendering it fertile, the largest being Alameda Creek.
The county is bounded upon the north by Contra
Costa County, of which it was at one time a part, and
on the east by San Joaquin County, and on the south
by Sa'nta Clara, west by the Bay of San Francisco. In
shape upon the map' it is very much like a boot, with
the sole toward the west and the toe pointing north.
CLIMATE.
In referring to the advantages of Alameda County
as a place of residence by reason of its topographical
situation and climatic superiority, the following from
the pen of Ex-Mayor William R. Davis, of Oakland,
with the accompanying diagram showing the air cur-
rents and causes for non-prevalence of fogs, common
at certain seasons on the seacoast, written for the
Oakland Trib2tne, is applicable and pertinent, and is
by permission published here: —
CLIMATE AND AIR MOVEMENT IN ALAMEDA COUNTY
THE WHY.
"No stranger realizes, and few residents understand,
how Oakland and Alameda County have such an
equable and delightful climate, compared with that of
San Francisco, although Oakland is only six or eight
miles, just across the bay, east of San F'ranci.sco.
"On the opposite page is a diagram,which,with a few
words of introduction, will at once speak familiarly to
the reader. To the' westward of us, some twelve or
fourteen miles, is the Pacific Ocean, beating against the
feet of the first row of Coast Range hills. The Golden
Gite is a pass through this first row of hills, being
about six miles long and over a mile wide. The Bay
of San Francisco and the ocean connect through this
channel or gate. At the inner or eastern end of this
channel the western bay shore lines turn northward
and southward, substantially parallel with the ocean
shore line, San Francisco being on the northea.stern
corner of the peninsula, south of the Golden Gate, and
between the ocean and the bay. This peninsula is of
about the same width, from bay to ocean, as the dis-
tance eastward from San Francisco across the bay to
Oakland — say six miles. On the Oakland side the
land rises from the bay level, on the gentlest slope,
back to the second row of Coast Range hills. This
slope extends from Berkeley on the north (a city of
eight thousand inhabitants, where the University of
California is located) down in a southeasterly direction
to and far beyond the Alameda and Santa Clara
County line. The soil of this slope is generally a
warm, sandy loam, fertile, and easy of cultivation, and
now produces almost every berry, fruit, plant, tree,
cereal, vegetable, shrub, and flower grown from Ore-
gon to Arizona. From Berkeley on the north to the
county line on the south is about thirty-five miles.
This slope varies in width from three miles on the
northern end to more than thrice that width as you
proceed southward. At Oakland its width is approxi-
matelj' five miles.
"The elevation of this slope, before reaching the
rolling foothills, is in the body of the city from twenty
to forty feet above the tide level. The eastern part of
Oakland is upon the rising ground of the foothills.
The two rows of coast hills above mentioned run
nearly parallel, from southeast to northwest, and both
lie substantially at right angles to the route of the
trade winds or prevailing sea breeze, coming off the '
ocean from the southwest, during the summer and
fall months — from about the latter part of May to the
middle of September. We are now ready to proceed
to the consideration of the matter, the importance of
which cannot be overestimated. Taken with the con-
ceded advantages of location, transit, educational in-
stitutions, good order, freedom from debt, wealth,
resources, and soil, it makes Oakland the most desira-
ble spot for habitation on the Pacific Coast. If the
point is n.ew, that will not detract from its importance.
"Let us now look at the diagram on the next page.
" The arrows sIktm the course of the sea breeze. The
profile at the bottom of the diagram shows substan-
tially the hill obstruction which the sea breeze en-
counters in its northeasterly course. (I need scarcely
mention that the summer heat of the interior land
surface, lying to the eastward, rarifies and raises the
atmosphere there and draws in the cooler atmosphere
from the adjacent ocean, just as heated air over the
fire rises in the chimney and draws in the cooler air
from about the fireplace.)
"Now follow the arrows. Commencing at the
ocean, the ocean breeze (bearing much or little fog)
literally bumps against and rises above the first row
RESIDEf^CE OP N{.W.W[\JRRY. Jfi
PLATE 2.
i50H AND IAKE 5T5. OAKLAND.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
of coast hills. These hills are, say, four hundred feet
high south of the Golden Gate, and twice that height
north of the Golden Gate. This pitches the general
breeze four hundred to eight hundred feet above the
sea level in its flight inland. It has then only from
ten to' fourteen miles to go until it would encounter
the second row of coast hills. This second row is
substantially twice as high as the first. The result
and the fact are that the general ocean breeze cannot
and does not descend in its course anywhere near the
water level between these two rows of hills. Being
pitched up by range number one, it bears its moisture
and maintains its course high enough to pass over
-Rov-ftoT cSt'^ Bi^LZE. i^r OP)KJ-.^/ad Ct^Iw
and up on the top of range number two. The fog
clouds, as a matter of fact, scrape the top of the second
row of hills and then pass on northeastward. This
leaves Oakland and the slope of which I have spoken
in a triangle. Consider the triangle standing vertically.
The hill barrier to the east would lie behind the im-
aginary upright line of the triangle; the land slope
would be its base line, and the path of the ocean
breeze would be the upper line of the triangle, or its
hypothenuse. In this triangle the air is free from fog,
and moves gently eastward with just enough motion,
bracing coolness, and refreshing stimulus to make the
temperature delightful, life comfortable, and healthful-
ness certain. No sanitary department elsewhere can
ever do for any city what Nature is steadily doing for
the city of Oakland and vicinity. The fog clouds pass
overhead at an elevation of from five hundred to two
thousand feet. This is nature's sunshade, catching the
rays of the summer sun and casting cool and grateful
shadows on the land surface below, whilst it leaves
that surface free from wind and dampness. There
is a horizontal triangle of protection also. At the
Golden Gate this sea breeze can and does come in on
the water level ; but by reason of the conformation of
the hills, this tongue of wind becomes forked — one
part traveling northward and the other to tlTe south-
east. The small arrows show the course and divisions
of this lesser current. One part bears
northward around the point of hills north
of Berkeley; the other bears southeast
down the bay. The former is quite strong,
the latter rather weak. The reason for this
is clear; the former runs in the direction of
the prevailing sea breeze overhead, and
hence maintains its velocity; the latter
turns down the bay, almost at right angles
with the general over current, and hence
its force is dissipated and weakened. This
forking of the Golden Gate current leaves
Oakland again in the triangle of repose.
Of this horizontal triangle the base is at
the hills to the eastward, and the other two
sides are the two forks of the Golden Gate's
current of wind. For these reasons, con-
sidering these two triangles, I think I may
justly say Oakland is in the triangle of
peace. Under these circumstances it is
not strange that strangers do not realize
the fact that there is such a marked differ-
ence between the climate of .San Francisco
and that of Oakland. I believe these tri-
angles furnish the solution of the question.
On this point, too, there is a singular little
fact well worth considering. That is this:
When water runs out of a waterspout or trough, if
the trough is uneven on the under side, some water
drips or curls mider, while the main stream goes
ahead. Just so in this case.
"The general front of the fog-bearing sea breeze
bumps against and rises over the uneven top of the
San Francisco hills; a little of the wind curls under
at the uneven summit of the first row of hills, and
bears down on San Francisco. But this curling down
of the cloud current goes no further practically. This
curling down and the two triangles of repose account,
in my judgment, for the phenomenal fact that Oak-
land, only six or eight miles from San Francisco, has
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
a climate so much more benignant, and as different as
though the two cities were a hundred miles apart.
"The views here given will account for the follow-
ing facts: (tj Why a stiff summer sea breeze bears
down in the streets of San Francisco; (2) why that
wind brings fog down with it to the land surface
there; (3) why the waves on the Bay of San Francisco
run higher on a line extending northeasterly from the
inner face of the Golden Gate than elsewhere; (4)
why the summer wind is strong across San Pablo Bay
and up the Straits of Carquinez ; (5) why Oakland
has absolutely no fog down in her streets when it is
down on the west side of the bay; (6) why there is no
surface trade wind at Oakland ; and (7) why the fogs
of the San Francisco peninsula become grateful clouds
over Oakland and vicinity.
"The environments of the slope on the eastern side
of the Bay of San Francisco duplicate those of Athens,
whicli- is one of the reasons why Oakland is designated
the Athens of the Pacific. This is not a fanciful, but
a real resemblance. The hills about Athens and also
the Grecian archipelago are one with the hills and bays
here. The clouds, the temperature, the sky, the
breeze, the landscape, the half-shadowed countr\-, are
substantially the counterpart of ancient Greece.
Whenever the Creator casts a kindly handful of sun-
beams on old Greece, he, next morning, casts gently
another handful over the new Greece — this Athenian
slope.
"This slope is well watered and has an abundant
rainfall every season. Such a thing as drought or ir-
rigation upon it was never dreamed of, and will never
be necessary. So fertila is this soil from Berkeley
down to the county line that trees, flowers, and
shrubs planted and properly tended, as, for e.xample,
about a new house, will at the end of the second or
third season make the spot look as if it had been oc-
cupied and cultivated ten years. I have seen this ac-
tual result in almost numberless cases in and about
Oakland. The heliotrope and fuchsia grow outdoors
in Alameda County without so much as the shelter of
a newspaper or sheet throughout the winter, and fre-
quently attain a height of from eight to twelve feet.
Geraniums thrive side by side with the heliotrope and
fuchsia, and often reach a height of from six to ten
feet. This slope is the paradise of flower and tree life
as well as of animal and human existence. The aver-
age annual variation in temperature at Oakland be-
tween summer and winter temperatures — taking the
average temperature of the months including winter
and those including summer — is only eight degrees.
Upon this inviting slope the most exacting and pains-
taking home seekers, old Pacific Coast residents who
know the entire coast, have been and are now locating
their homes. The stranger, not knowing the relative
merits of different localities, may be satisfied with a
better country than his, though not the best; but the
old resident (from Washington Territory, Oregon,
Nevada, and California) knows that the garden spot,
the paradise of the Pacific Coast, is upon the slopes
and in the valleys about the Bay of San Francisco.
" On this slope there are no less than thirteeji towns
and cities north of the Santa Clara County line —
Berkeley, Temescal, Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro,
San Lorenzo, Hayward, Niles, Alvarado, Newark, Cen-
terville, Irvington, and Mission San Jose. Of these the
principal ones are: Oakland, sixty thousand; Alameda,
twehe thousand, and Berkeley, eight thousand — say,
eight)' thousand inhabitants in these three cities. The
other towns and the intervening p'opulation include
substantially twent\'-five thousand people. So that,
e.Kcluding San Francisco, this slope is at once the
center of the ^tate and of its population."
The population of the entire county is now at least
one hundred thousand. It is increasing annually by
fifteen thousand. This means a population of two hun-
dred and fifty thou.sand in ten years, without anj- spe-
cial additional causes contributing. But whate\'er else
happens, incoming railroads, completion of the harbor,
more active development of manufactories — any or all
these are bound to accelerate the increase beyond that
now going on. The surest count}' in California is
Alameda.
HEALTH ADVANTAGES.
Low Deatti Rate and Exceptional Freedom from Sickness —
Statistics of Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, etc.
The topographical situation and the natural condi-
tions and phenomenapreviously mentioned, contribute
to make Alameda County and its cities and towns, es-
pecially Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley, and their
suburbs, unexcelled for good health. One of the rriost
important of these natural conditions is the daily after-
noon breezes that sweep over the county from the
Pacific Ocean in the summer and autumn seasons.
These are so tempered and modified by the distance
from the ocean and the conformation of the land that
they are mild and bracing and yet are sufficiently
strong to cany away any noxious or poisonous gases
that may arise from sewerage or decomposing sub-
stances. The same peculiarities of coast conforma-
tion serve also to carry the fog prevalent along the
coast away, so that it seldom settles down upon the
eastern side of the Bay of San Francisco, because on
striking the hills along the ocean coast, it is driven
t^^^-
r^^-»A-V^
RUbV FjILlVijSEYARD propertVof JOHf^ (
PLATE 3.
IL&LLI [S! 5; 50f^5., LiV£R.|vioRE- Valley Ai^!vied/\ ^o.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
upward and over the bay at considerable height and
strikes the Contra Costa Range. That portion of it
coming in at the Golden Gate is driven along by the -
breezes accompanying to the Straits of Carquinez and
San Pablo Bay. While the immediate coast from
Point Reyes to Santa Cruz may be enveloped in fog,
Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley and adjoining towns
of Alameda County, are in sunshine or maybe in par-
tial shadow from the fog clouds passing several hun-
dred feet overhead.
Being thus favored by nature, it is no wonder that
the health of the community is exceptionally good, as
is shown by the statistics, taken fi'om the official
records of the health offices.
The average death rate of Oakland for the past ten
years shows an annual percentage of 13.57 P^'' 1,000.
The following is the rate per year from July i to
June 30: —
For 1882 and '83, 13.66; 1883-84, 13.92; 1884-85,
12.72; 1885-86, 13.22; 1886-87,12.36; 1887-88,15.03;
1888-89, 14.82; 1889-90. 13.43; 1890-91, 12.80; 1 89 1
—92, 13.86.
The records of the health office show that during
the past eight years five hundred and sixty-four per-
sons have died from pulmonary diseases. Of these
two hundred and seven had resided in Oakland more
than ten years; sixty-six died of whom the time of
residence is not given; ninety-nine resided between
five and ten years ; twenty had lived here five years ;
sixty-eight, between threeand four years; thirty-eight,
two years ; seventy-one, between six months and one
year; fourteen, six months; eleven, five months; fifteen,
four months; thirteen, three months; nineteen, two
months; nine, one month, and thirty-one, less than one
month. This shows that very few, if any, of the deaths
from consumption occurred among the old residents
of the county, while hundreds of cases are known in
which persons with weak lungs have entirely recov-
ered.
The records of the health office of Alameda City
show a lower death rate than that of any other city on
the Pacific Coast, and in fact it is claimed by the health
authorities, lower than any other city in the United
States. It claims to have the most perfect sewer sys-
tem, with appliances for continuous flushing, in use
anywhere in the world, and that this tends to the bet-
ter health of its citizens. The death rate is about 1 1
per 1,000.
The town of Berkeley, with its 8,000 inhabitants, has
as yet not fully organized a board of health, though it
has a health officer acting under instructions of its
town trustees. The records of its health statistics are
not complete and could not be accurately ascertained.
The death rate is, however, about the same as that of
Oakland, being 14.97 per 1,000 per annum. A com-
plete system of sewerage is under contemplation.
The interior towns of San Leandro, Flaywards,
Niles, Livermore, Pleasanton, Irvington, Newark, Al-
varado, Centerville, etc., while without boards of health,
show by the records of death as published in their
newspapers an exceedingly low death rate in compar-
ison with those of other parts of the United States.
ST. Mary's college.
One of the largest educational institutions in Ala-
meda County is that of St. Mary's College, occupying
a block of seven acres in North Oakland, fronting on
New Broadway. St. Mary's was founded by Arch-
bishop Alemany, of San Francisco, in 1863, and was
conducted by the priests of the diocese on the out-
skirts of South San Francisco until 1868, when the
management was transferred to the order of Christian
Brothers. In 1872 the college was empowered to
confer academic honors. In 1887-88 a new and en-
larged building was erected in Oakland, and the school
was transferred to it in 1889. The faculty consists of
eighteen professors and instructors, who devote their
entire time to the school. The studies are divided
into two departments, collegiate (classical and scien-
tific) and commercial. There is also a preparatory
department with four grades. The building is 190
feet frontage with wings of 150 feet. It is five stories
high, is furnished with elevators and all modern im-
provements. A model of this building and a special
display of the work of the students of this college is
exhibited at the Columbian E.xposition in the Educa-
tional Department.
METEOROLOGY, TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL.
• The temperature of the western shore of California
for many miles inland is affected by the warm current
in the Pacific Ocean known as the Japan stream. The
topography also affects the temperature and the rain-
fall. Along the coast the rainfall in some localities
reaches 50 to 75 inches during the season, while in
others the mean average runs from 20 to 30 inches.
The average difference of annual rainfall in the State
of California extending from northwest to southeast is
a little over two inches for every degree, and the
meteorological records for a number of years show
that the increase in rainfall is about one inch for every
100 feet in elevation in ascending the Sierra Nevada
Mountains. There is more rain in the northern part
of the State, and a gradual decrease towards the south.
People living at the East who have never visited Cali-
fornia, who read of many feet of snow at Truckee or
Bodie, California, are inclined to think all of California
lO
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
is under snow. The fact is that the points in this
State where snow is measured by the feet are located
at an altitude greater than Mount Washington, and
while there may be eighteen feet of snow at the Sum-
mit in Nevada County and at Truckee at an elevation
of 7,000 feet, the orange trees eighty miles nearer the
Pacific Ocean are laden with fruit. Alameda Count\-
lies west of the cold zone, south of the heavy rain
belts of the northern coast, and yet is north of the dry
belt of the southern coast.
The following tables show the rainfall in inches for
the seasons of 1881-82 and 1891-92 inclusive, and the
mean annual rainfall for the eleven years, the temper-
ature for the same time and that of the seasons, as well
as the relative humidity, etc., for the past year:
In onl)' two years has the average temperature of
the months ranged over 14 degrees, and that its mean
-range is not quite I2j4 degrees.
MEAN TEMPEK.\TURE
)i-92-
Mean temperature of winter 53-1°
Mean temperature of spring 54o8
Mean temperature of summer 62.03
Mean temperature of autumn .....57.09
Difference between the coldest and warmest of spring
months 2.07
Difference between the coldest and warmest of summer
months 3-34
Difference between the coldest and warmest of autumn
months '••• 5-°8
Difference between the coldest and warmest of winter
months ^-^9
Difference between the coldest and warmest months of
the year ^3-55
KAINF.ALL IN INCHES FOR YEARS AND MONTHS I881-92
Months.
July
August
September
October
November..
December ..
January ....
February ...
March
April
May
June
Totals
.40
.82
1.49
5-09
2.42
2.05
4.2c
I-5I
■15
18.13
64
1882-83
o I a
■42
2.65
4-33
1. 14
1-95
.70
3-33
2.20
3-50
1883-84
O I D
1884-85
iO I c
1. 00
I.03I
.90}
1. 15;
3.81:
5-25!
8.59
5-79
•55
3-03
31-10
.26
-35
2.80
.05'
7-73
1.92
.48,
1.07
3.12
.lo
.oSj
'7-95!
1886-S7
.02
-05
■ 30!
II. II
4-43'
8.12
-30
2.57.
5-11
■3":
6
KD
-15
-05
1-59
•45
3.60
1-57
7-8,
-71
2-35
.10
-05
Us
>C I V
.27
"78
3.22
6.42
1. 02;
4^44,
.10!
.481
■461
17.20'
1888-89 1
10
n
Si
V
■<
a
I
1889-90
c
•92
.06
3-52
4.82
.90
-63
7.60
•93
1.92
.07
21.37
7^30
2.89
13-27
10.22
5-76
4-73
1-51
1. 17
64I46.95
1890-91
a
1891-92
iO
3-19
•95
11-37
3.10
2.77
1.60
.11
i'23.T9' .S7
•15
6
.87
2
.20
5
-.55
13
6.64
9
2.31
9
3-68
9
2.89
8
1.09
7
2.49
20.87
68
Note.— Mean annual rainfall for eleven years, 24 33 inches.
The following will more particularly illustrate the
climate of Oakland for the past eleven years, as it
regards the equability of seasons and the difference
between the warmest and coldest: —
Years.
w
•0
1'
C
3
B
re
>
c
c
3
3
^ 1
5 1
n
: 1
a
n
3
54-46
55 18
55-73
56.16
52-97
5635
54-12
54-63
55-59
58.08
60.40
61.17
59-56
60.07
58-95
60.27
60 06
61.16
61-89
61. 2-,
57-75
57 67
56.92
56.73
55-86
5478
56-44
48.20
50.39
59-12
49-57
45- 38
51-10
46.80
12.20
1883 ■
10.78
9.24
10.50
13-57
1887
9- 17
13.26
54.25 46.20
57-07 47-38
=9.52 ■ 51-69
56.89 , 52.12
19.26
14-51
13-33
1892
, 55.06 61.69
13-41
Means
1 55-29 60.46
56.72 I 49-81
12.47
Difference between the warmest and coldest means
of the seasons for eleven years is 16.51.
MATERIAL GROWTH AND INCREASE.
Wonderful Progress of the County in the Past Quarter of a
Century— Almost Doubled in Assessed Value withm a
Decade.
The material growth and prosperity of Alameda
County, especially during the past quarter of a century,
has been gradual, progressive, and substantial, rather
than of a mushroom character. It contains no towns
or cities on paper. The interior towns and villages
mentioned in this album are prosperous communi-
ties and all have a productive country surrounding
them.
During the earlier years of the county's history, the
principal' product of the land was in cereals, as the
records of the assessor's office for 1856 show the
cereal crop of that year to have been nearly two mil-
lion bushels, on forty-two thousand fifty-four acres.
Of this twenty-two thousand fifty-four was in wheat,
and twenty thousand in barley, while there were
LJ
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
II
three thousand one hundred and eight acres in pota-
toes. Of the orchards that year there were four hun-
dred and twenty-six acres in apples and one hundred
and seventy-three in peaches. There were thirt)?-
four acres in vineyards. The live stock was put
down 'at four thousand seven hundred and thirty-
four head of horses, one thousan.d sixty-seven mules,
seventeen thousand five hundred and forty-eight neat
is ^89,700,041. Included in this total is ^165,216 as
the assessed value of telegraph and telephone lines in
the county, which is not included in table.
Alameda County is practically without indebted-
ness. In the year 1874 bonds in the sum of ^200,-
000 were issued at eight per cent per annum interest,
running for twenty years, ten per cent of the principal
payable annually. These bonds were issued for the
stock, and ninety-three thousand two hundred and purpose of erecting the new county buildings on the
eighty-one sheep. The average yield was estimated removal of the county seat to Oakland. The interest
for the fifty-si.x thousand five hundred and nine acres and principal have been met each year, and only ^20,-
under tilth at fifty bushels to the acre, valued at ;^ 120. 000 now remains outstanding. This will be obliter-
From this the annual product of the thinly populated ated ne.xt year, and the county be entirely out of debt,
county at that time was estimated at ^4,000,000. The tax rate for 1892-93 was only eighty cents on the
The growth of the county the past thirty years from its hundred dollars valuation,
population of three thousand to upward of one hun-
,,,, lUU ™ 1 j-t-Jt-) THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
dred thousand, has been marvelous, and its industrial
growth and prosperity have kept pace with its popula- The government of the county is divided into legis-
tion, as the perusal of the succeeding pages will show, lative, executive, and judicial branches. The leg-
The following tabulated statement, taken from the islative is under the control of the Board of Super-
annual recapitulation tables of the county assessment visors, similar to the County Courts in some States and
rolls, shows the increase in the assessed value of real Board of County Commissioners in others. The ex-
estate, improvements, and personal property, added ecutive is partly under control of the Supervisors and
together by years since 1882, and including that of partly under the general law as carried out by the
1892-93. During the eleven years mentioned there Sheriff, constables, etc. There are five Supervisors,
have been no so-called booms, but the growth has elected by the people of different supervisioral districts
been gradual and steady: at the biennial elections, to serve for a term of four
TABLE SHOWING THE INCREASE IN
VALUE OF ALAMEDA COUNTY BY TOWNSHIPS,
CITIES AND INCORPORATED TOWNS, FOR
11 YEARS, 1882-92, AS SHOWN BY THE ASSESSMENT ROLLS.
<
>
M
w
H
X
r
§
0
Ul
i
3 3
0
P
HP
^ ft
3 Q.
Ho
0 0
^ E
3 j^
ui a.
V
■ 5
i
■3
Hc
0 q
S P
3 "<
P
3
t-
p
3
Totals.
3-"
■<
S-3
': H
: 0
3.
0
a
5".
3-
p
3
m
a
V
■5"
: 3
■?'
•5'
3
V s
1S82
14,778,150
11,671,177
13,323.568
$2,777,089
1386,457
^5250,50-,
12,913,462
13,421,394
fc77,o86
14,175.402
$24,675,331
$48,949,619
1S83
5,918,403
2,357,812
2,464,186
3,048,997
475.672
286,2681 3,223,412
4.415.375
613,463
4.324.198
30,013,676
62,141,462
1S84
6,091,513
2,305,378
2,350.159
3,277,087
498,930
408,1981 3,662,360
4.291,559
644,205
4,501,828
29,500,535
57,531,758
iSS.s
6,805,763
2,618,702
2,395,595
3,640,860
523.322
487.730 3.877,819
4,573,174
664,926
4,690,358
31,633,283
61,315,526
I8S6
6,298,150
2,418,944
2,184.03s
3,058,371
484,718
465.456 3,526325
4,27i>'^87
592,085
4,173,535
28,498,030
55,926,236
I8S7
6,521,991
2,491,450
2.337.355
3,260,479
519,120
515,284 3,891,119
4,324,162
617,315
4,278,100
29,415,341
58,171,746
1888
7,230,332
3,126,125
3,140,492
3.599,261
687,022
533.445 4.010,093
4,701,561
659.777
4,660,275
31,398,528
64447,916
3889
7,872,699
3,283,960
3,265,180
3.617,951
604, 509
526,6451 4,112,400
5,248,353
781,810
4,900,092
34,727,9-6
68,941,464
1890
IS9I
9,022,866
3,497.413
3,328.925
3,861,245
638,825
509,885! 4.238,380
5.457.036
863,500
5,114,495
39,275,659
75,808,220
10,245,155
4,092,040
3,477,345
3.944.623
691,665
620,805! 4,490,983
6.762,357
930,425
5,205,041
42,566,283
81,031,722
1892 io,9is,b25l 6,240,435
5,019,925 3,969.495
777,040
614,475! 4.575. 195
6,165,825
982,065
5,289,990
44,288,755
88,841,825
The assessed value of the fiscal year 1892-93 of
the four hundred and forty thousand three hundred
and fifty-five acres of land in the county lying out-
side of the cities and incorporated towns, is ^17,209,-
725. The assessed value of the improvements on this
land is ^2,780,580. Of the entire area of the county,
fourteen thousand two hundred and ten acres are
within the corporate limits of cities and towns, and are
valued at ^39>369,775, with improvements to the value
of ^22,137,020. The personal property valuation is
^7,464,620, and the total assessed value of the county
years. Their terms are so fixed that all do not go out
of office at the same time. Of the present Board the
terms of two will expire January i, 1895, and the re-
maining three January I, 1897. The regular meeting
of the Supervisors is held on the first and last Mon-
day of each month. The Supervisors have charge of
much of the county's business, fi.x the tax levy, open
highways, grant railroad and other franchises, county
licenses, look after the poor, etc.
The other county officers are the Count}^ Clerk
who is ex-officio Clerk of the Superior Court, which
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
has jurisdiction over criminal, civil, and probate busi-
ness, and is likewise clerk of the Board of Supervisors;
the County Auditor, County Assessor, County Tax
Collector, County Treasurer, County Recorder, County
Surveyor, Sheriff, Coroner, County Superintendent of
Schools, and District Attorney, whose duties are
similar to those performed by like officers in other
States; the Public Administrator, whose duty it is
to administer on estates of deceased persons whose
heirs are unknown. There, is no Register of Wills
or Prothonotoiy. All wills are filed with the County
Clerk, and proof is made in the Probate depart-
ment of the Superior Court. The terms of the
County Assessor and the County Superintendent of
Schools are four years, and those of the other officers
two years.
The Judicial Department, or Superior Court, is di-
vided into four departments, each presided over by a
judge, all having concurrent jurisdiction and sometimes
sitting together in bank in important cases. Each de-
partment has assigned to it civil, probate, and criminal
cases, these being distributed b}- the Count)^ Clerk
according to the date of filing, as provided by the rules
of the Court. The Superior Court has jurisdiction of
all felonies and high misdemeanors, the jurisdiction of
lesser offenses being vested in Police Courts in cities
and the Justices' Courts of the townships, from whose
decisions appeals may be had to the Superior Court.
The Justices of the Peace likewise have jurisdiction in
ci\'il matters in actions at law, where the amount
claimed, exclusive of interest and costs, does not ex-
ceed ^300.
The Grand Jur\- meets twice a year and presents
■ indictments for any crime cognizable by the Superior
Court. The Judges of the Police and Justices' Courts
are also committing magistrates and may bind de-
fendants to trial before the Superior Court without the
intervention of the Grand Jury. In the latter instance
informations are filed by the District Attorney and the
prisoner tried in the .Superior Court as on indictment
l^y the Grand Ji.ir\-.
Alameda County has in the State Legislature two
State Senators and six Assemblymen, the former with
terms of four and the latter two years.
CHAPTER II.
HORTICULTURE, VITICULTURE, AGRICUL-
TURE, ETC.
A Great Fruit Growing Center— Unequaled for Viticulture,
Producing the Finest Wines in the World— Une.xcelled for
Cereal Crops — Flowers in Profusion, Including Many of the
Semi-tropics— Roses Blooming .All the Year Round and
the Heliotrope and Fuchsia Oul-ofdoors during tlie Win-
ter— Immense Vegetable Crops — Seri -culture.
HORTICULTURE IN ALAMEDA COUNTY.
Unexcelled for Fruits of all Kinds — Immense Advance in the
' Past Ten Years.
It is said that fruit culture in the early days of Cal-
ifornia was incidental, and that it should ever become
the chief industry of a great commonwealth was not
then dreamed possible. The horticultural history of
California dates back to 1701-7, when Alta Cali-
fornia as well as Lower California was under Spanish
rule. It commenced by the cultivation of a rich tract
at St. Xavier, on the Mexican border. It is a matter of
record that Father Ugarte had in the latter year bread
of his own raising off this tract, while New Spain was
suffering from drought. He is also said to have made
more wine from the vineyards of the St. Xavier Mis-
sion than necessary for its use, and to have exported
small quantities to Mexic^ It was not until nearly
half Century later that tk^-i-^ .x tion now known as the
State of California was occupied by the whites. The
Jesuits were driven from the missions of Lower Cali-
fornia in 1767, and the Franciscan monks [)laced in
charge. Junipero Serra was made president of the
missions and divided them between the Fi-anciscans
and Dominicans. In 1769 the Franciscans came
northward. Serra and Jose de Galvez, Visitor General,
representing the king of Spain, established the new
missions of Alta California, and among the supplies
caused to be sent from Spain bj' Galvez were floucr,
vegetable, and fruit seeds as well as cereals.
They established twenty-one missions, and to all,
except three, were attached gardens and orchards, so
that the olive, fig and grape were introduced early.
The trees were grown from the seed chiefly and were
all or nearly all seedlings, and from these are still prop-
agated the varieties known as the mission olive, the
mission grape, and the black fig, called the mission
fig. In the closing years of the last century and the
opening of this, there were growing near Mission San
Jose, now in Alameda County, apples, pears, apricots^
peaches, and figs, and at some of the missions in the
southern portion were, in addition to these, oranges,
limes, grapes, olives, and pomegranates — in all about
five thou.sand bearing trees. These have increased in
the century to nearly thirty-one million trees, and of
this number about one million six hundred thousand
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
13
are in Alameda County. Of these about one million
are in bearing. Among the first apples grown in the
State were those of Mr. Lewelling, of San Lorenzo,
Alameda County. There are in the county fifty thou-
sand five hundred apple trees, three hundred and thirty-
one thousand apricot, two hundred and twenty-seven
thousand one hundred cherry, twenty-three hundred
fig, thirty-seven hundred olive, one hundred and thirty-
seven thousand five hundred peach, forty thousand
seven hundred nectarine, two hundred and thirty-five
thousand one hundred prune, one hundred and seventy
thousand one hundred pear, one hundred and eighty-
eight thousand five hundred plum, four hundred
quince, one hundred lemon, twelve hundred orange,
one hundred and twenty-three thousand seven hundred
almond, thirty-six hundred English walnut. This has
been the growth, practically, of the past twenty years,
as the entire output of fresh fruit in California in 1871
was only one million eight hundred and thirty-two
thousand three hundred and ten pounds, while in 1892
about four hundred million pounds, or upward of
twenty-two thousand car loads, were shipped out of
the State. The immense growth is shown in the past
ten to twelve years by the fact that the total number of
car loads shipped in 1880 was only five hundred and
forty-si-x. Beside the immense quantity shipped by
rail about eighteen million pounds were shipped by
sea. Of this Alameda County contributed, it is esti-
mated, three million two hundred and fifty thousand
pounds, and it ranks as one of the leading fruit coun-
ties of the State. In the production of cherries it
stands at the head. Of this fruit more are shipped to
Eastern markets than from all other parts of the State.
Not only do the orchard fruits flourish well in this
county, but the small fruits, such as currants, goose-
berries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc., do
equally well, and there are now nearly fourteen hun-
dred acres in these fruits.
Little or no irrigation is needed in the entire county.
There is only one canal of any extent — that of the
Murray and Washington Ditch Company. It is
about five miles long and is assessed at only ^1,100.
There are about fifty artesian wells in the county, vaiy-
ing in depth from two hundred to four hundred feet.
These are sunk at a cost of about ,^1.50 per foot.
In his report to the California State Board of Hor-
ticulture last October, Prof C. H. Allen, special agent
for the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey,
Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and San Mateo,
has this to say : —
"Alameda County has some of the oldest and most
celebrated orchards in the State. The almost fabu-
lous yields of apricots and cherries in this county, with
the amounts realized per acre for the fruit, gave the
first vigorous impulse to fruit growing in California.
"The Hay ward district, comprising the plane from
San Leandro to Suiiol Canon, lying so closely contig-
uous to San Francisco, was naturally the favorite
region in which to grow fruit for the home market.
The fact that abundant water was found, compara-
tively near the surface, made irrigation easy for small
fruits. These were and are grown in large quantities
and find a ready market. Large areas of currants,
gooseberries, and other small fruits are producing,
and are, in many cases, grown between the trees in
the bearing orchards. The most notable orchard is
that of the Meek estate, consisting of nearlj^ one thou-
sand acres. One hundred and fifty acres of this are
cherries, more than two hundred acres are apricots,
two hundred and twenty are almonds, seventy are
pears, and more than two hundred acres are prunes.
In these orchards there are one hundred and forty
acres of currants and ten acres of blackberries. The
output from this orchard has far outgrown the home
market, and large shipments are now being made to
the Eastern markets. Through all this region the
fruit goes either fresh or in cans, as the climate is not
adapted to drying in the sun, and the cost of fuel is too
great for profitable artificial drying. Many of the
large canneries of the State depend upon the Alameda
orchards for a considerable portion of their supply,
and not a few of the inland packing houses transport
from this locality fruit to dry.
"It was years after fruit growing had become a lead-
ing industry in this locality before it was determined
that the more easterly parts of the county were
adapted to fruit. At Mission San Jose there were some
orchards, thd offspring of the old mission, and a large
almond orchard had long been in profitable bearing
there, but it was doubted whether in the drier part —
the Livermore Valley — fruit could be grown without
irrigation. Grapes were planted, and succeeded be-
yond expectation, and gradually tree planting has
made its way until at Niles, at Centerville, and beyond
the Sunol Canon, in Sunol, Pleasanton, and Liver-
more, there are excellent orchards. Most of them
are yet young, but they bid fair to compete favorably
with the fruit belt in the Santa Clara Valley. Most of
the orchards are in the lowlands. They have yet to
learn that the foothill land is equally adapted to fruit
culture, and that culture can take the place of irriga-
tion. The fruit area here is surely destined, in the
near future, to be greatly increased.
"At Niles is one of the largest, if not the largest,
nursery in the State. The California Nursery Com-
pany, with a capital of ^100,000, has about five hun-
H
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
dred acres in nursery stock, consisting of fruit trees,
vines, and ornamental trees and slirubs. Their sales
in 1 89 1 were about seven hundred and fifty thousand
fruit trees and two hundred thousand ornamental trees
and shrubs.
"The orchards in this county seem to be well kept,
fruit pests being absent or well in hand, and there is
on ever)? hand evidence of prosperity."
VITICULTURE OF THE COUNTY.
The Finest Wines of California and of America are Made in
Alameda County — Three of the Paris Exposition Prizes
out of Four Awarded to American Viticulturists Won by
Alameda County.
The viticultural industry of Alameda County, al-
though commenced nearly a century ago by the Mis-
sion Fathers of Mission de San Jose, is only of recent
date, or at least has only come into prominence within
the past ten to fifteen years. The first wine growers
making any quantity were in the vicinity of Mission
San Jose, but during the past fifteen years large areas
have been planted in the Livermore and other valle3's,
and from the few growers of that date are now about
one hundred and si.xty raising different varieties of
wine grapes. Only thirty-one of these, however, make
wine, the remainder selling their grapes to the wine
makers. In 1892 there were about seven thousand
acres in wine grapes in the county, and the output for
the season aggregated about one million two hundred
and fifty thousand gallons. The wines of Alameda
County, especially the Sauternes and the Medocs, are
equal to any in the world, and of four gold medals
awarded to American wines at the Paris Exposition,
i889,three of them were carried away by products from
Alameda County. The largest and mcfst complete
winery in the United States was built a few years ago
at Irvfngton, near Mission San Jose, by Juan Gallegoes,
and nearly five hundred thousand gallons were made
there last season. This winery is capable of storing
several million gallons. There are yet thousands of
acres in the Livermore and other valleys in the county
suitable for the cultivation of the vine.
Some of the vintages of the Livermore Valley, es-
pecially in the Sauternes and Medocs, are unexcelled
by any of the productions of the famous French vine
growers. One of these is said to.be the equal of a
famous French brand, and is so near like it that the
best judges were unable to detect any difference.
Those of Mission San Jose and Warm Springs are
also equal to the best imported wines.
AGRICULTURE IN ALAMEDA COUNTY.
From 1856 until about fifteen years ago the agricul-
tural area of the county increased and the cereal prod-
ucts were considerable. The cultivation of much of
the land in the Livermore Valley, in and around San
Leandro, Hayward, Niles, Mission San Jose, Center-
ville. Warm Springs, etc., has during this time been
changed to horticulture and viticulture. In 1856 the
entire area in agricultural products was about forty-
five thousand acres, and annual yield about two mil-
lion bushels. In 1870—75 it was much greater, and
large warehouses were established at different stations
along the railroad lines and at various landings where
the products vvere shipped to market. In 1892 the
area in agricultural products according to the assess
ment I'olls was two hundred and three thousand
acres, or three hundred and fifteen square miles. Of
this ninety-seven thousand acres were in hay, sixty-
eight thousand in barley, thirty-six thousand in wheat,
twelve thousand two hundred and fifty in oats, and
one thousand six hundred and fifty in corn. The out-
put for the year 1892 was two million bushels of bar-
ley, one million bushels of wheat, and about five hun-
dred thousand tons of hay. Corn is only grown for
market gardening, and the sweet varieties for table use
are those principally produced. Very little is used
for stock food or for grinding purposes. The barley
is the finest grown on the coast, Chevalier frequently
running as high as fifty-six pounds to the bushel, the
standard being fifty-one pounds. The cereal crops
produce from thirty to fifty bushels per acre on the
rich soils of the county. The market for barley is
near, as it is principally sold in Oakland and San
Francisco to the brewers, and much of the wheat is
also used in home consumption, but the market is not
limited to that of home, because a great deal of grain
is shipped by vessel around Cape Horn to tlie United
Kingdom and the Continent. The hay product, which
is principally that of grain, though other kinds are
grown, finds a ready market at a good price in the
metropolis and at the county seat.
FLORICULTURE AND ARBORICULTURE.
One of the Garden Spots of the World — Flowers and Shrub
bery. Including Semi-tropical Plants in the Open Air all the
Year Round.
Nowhere in the world, not even in China, called the
Flowery Kingdom, do flowers of all kinds grow more
profusely and with less care than in California; with
proper care and cultivation their production is won-
derful. Alameda County is especially favored by
nature for the cultivation and production of all kinds
of flora, and her florists send roses and other flowers
as far east as Salt Lake City every month in the year.
Roses bloom in the yards and on the lawns every
month in the year, and so does the delicate. heliotrope
PliME 6
.^^
3iKY AND CITY OF SAN
^sm^^..-^.^^
..s^^fc^^L.^i.'.^'^Ui^.i A':?t-;-~rJ1^4^?ai- \^ ^^^^^J^^,S.^Sil^Ur.iU^
r«STAHD TELEGRAPH AVE. OAKIZ\ND
flNC^lS^O INDISTANGE.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
15
— a plant that scarcely attains any size in the rigorous
climate of the East, but which attains a vigorous,
bushy growth in Oakland and interior towns out-of-
doors to the height of four and five feet, and in espe-
cially favored localities even more. The delicate
fuchsia", the hothouse pot plant of the East, frequently
attains the height of eight and ten feet, with blooms of
large size — sometimes three or four times that usually
seen East. It also remains out-of-doors all winter.
Magnolias and calla lilies thrive outdoors during the
entire year without shelter. The fragrant violet is
to be found the year round, in bloom, and its per-
fume is as sweet in December, January, and Feb-
ruary as at any other time of the year. Geraniums
of all Icinds bloom in the yards every month in
the year, and the various varieties of Lady Wash-
ingtons, with magnificent large flowers, are the won-
der of the visitor. The pans)- is found in bloom
also the year round. Even the sweet pea and the
nasturtium are to be found growing outside during the
winter months. The crysanthemum commences to
bloom in October and continues to do so out-of-doors
in the yard the entire winter. During the past two
or three years this magnificent plant from Japan has
been so improved that its immense flowers of all colors
and of combined colors arc the glory of the flower
garden. It is unnecessary to mention the many hardy
perennials by name, because they all thrive in Ala-
meda County.
The most popular of the indigenous flowers is the
escholtzia, or California poppy, and during the months
of April, May, and June the uncultivated fields and
hills are covered with this beautifial flower, often re-
maining in bloom until July and August.
Ornamental shrubs of all kinds and variety thrive out-
of-doors during the entire year, only the most delicate
of tropical plants requiring the hothouse. Palms and
ferns from the semi-tropics and South Sea Islands
adorn the grounds of many citizens of Alameda
County, and are as common as the spruce and fir
in colder locations at the East. The cedar is now
used only as a hedge and is seldom grown as a lawn
decoration, palms and ferns of various varieties being
used instead.
VEGETABLES.
All Varieties Grown in the County— Green Peas from January
to December.
The County of Alameda furnishes to the metropolis
of the State of California much of the large quantity
of vegetables consumed by its residents. Green peas
are gathered in the \varm valley near Niles, Mission
San Jose, and Warm Springs every month in the year,
and in January it is a beautiful sight to see the green
rows of this vegetable product on the hillsides. Dur-
ing the months of April, May, and June an average
of three car loads per day are shipped from this local-
ity. Large quantities of tomatoes and potatoes are
also produced, as well as onions, squash, cabbages,
beets, etc., and several crops per year are grown
and may be purchased at the vegetable stands the
year round, it being unnecessary to bury them to
keep them from being frozen. The finest rhubarb
grown in the LTnited States is produced in the vicinity
of San Leandro. It is said that during the months of
April, May, June, Jul}^ and August about ^200 to
^300 daily come into this town of two thousand five
hundred inhabitants as the proceeds from the sale of
vegetables and fruits grown in the vicinity. Large-
sized cabbages may be purchased from the vegetable
stalls of Oakland the year round — summer and winter
— for five cents each. Large quantities of cucumber
pickles are produced in Eden Township. Cauliflower
and celery are also among the vegetable products, and
find read}' sale at reasonable prices during summer
and winter. The old-fashioned pumpkin of the East
is seldom seen, but the hard-rined squash in endless
variety takes its place, and the pumpkin pies of our
grandmothers are very well counterfeited.
HOPS.
In the Livermoi-e Valley are grown the finest hops
produced in the world. The area at the present time
is not very extensive, but it is being enlarged, and
may be done with profit to the growers. The Pleas-
anton hops are admitted by experts in New York to be
of the best quality grown, and are shipped to Europe.
SERI-CULTURE.
An experimental station for the culture of silk-
worms has been in operation at Piedmont, Oakland
Township, since 1885, under the direction of the La-
dies' Silk Culture Society of California, and is still in
operation. It is believed by the members of the so-
ciety that there may be a profit in planting the mul-
berry tree and cultivating the silkworm, if the farmers
will take an interest and get their children interested
in it. The experiments now carried on are fqr the
purpose of ascertaining the best variety of mulberry
and the best species of silkworm to grow.
i6
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
CHAPTER III.
EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES.
Hirter Education-The State University at Berlceley-Hs
hU Rank-The State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb
and the Blind-Private and Religious Colleges, Seminaries
and Academies-Unrivaled Public Schools throughout
the Entire County.
The educational advantages of Alameda County are
not excelled anywhere in the Union, not even in New
England, of which Bostpn is the boasted educational
center. Having an unrivaled climate and desirability
as a place of residence, Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley,
and suburbs or the interior towns are within reach of
the University of California and other institutions of
higher education by reason of excellent system of elec-
tric street railroads now in operation and in process of
construction, and which will be completed within a few
months. The public school system is second to none,
and the recent act of the Legislature creating union
high schools throughout the counties permits students
in the interior of the county to prepare at their homes
for entrance to the State University without the ex-
pense of attending a preparatory school, or of receiv-
ing a good education, fitting them for the active duties
of" life without attending the higher institutions of
learning.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
A Great Educational Institution Situated in Alameda County.
Among the prominent institutions situated in Ala-
meda County is the University of California, the prin-
cipal departments of which are situated at Berkeley.
The history of the State University runs back to the
early days, and before California was admitted into the
Union of States, but its effective work as an institution
of learning did not begin until eighteen years later.
In 1849 the Constitutional Convention placed a pro-
vision in the Constitution so that lands reserved or
granted by the United States to the State for the use
of a University should remain a permanent trust, the
interest on moneys received for lands sold by the
trustees to be applied to the support of the Universit)-.
In 1852 Congress granted seventy-two sections of
land to the State, and the proceeds of their sale went
into the University fund. The same Act set aside ten
sections for a public building fund. Under an act of
1862 California received fifty thousand acres of public
land for the establishment of an Agricultural and
Mechanical Arts College. In 1863 a scheme for the
estabhshment of this college came to naught, and an
Act passed in 1S66 to accomplish the same end was
repealed.
In the year 1853 Rev. Henry Durant and wife ar-
rived in California and established a school for boys
in a vacant saloon at the corner of Fourth street and
Broadway. Dr. Durant at once began agitating the
project of establishing a great college. His persist-
ence bore fruit, and in the summer of 1853 was pur-
chased the plat of land bounded by Twelfth, Four-
teenth, Franklin, and Harrison streets, Oakland, and
the College of California organized. A building fund
was raised and several buildings erected in the neigh-
borhood of Twelfth and Webster streets for tlie col-
lege and preparatory school. The money for the
most part was furnished by Rev. Isaac Brayton, and
he appeared to have a controlling interest in the col-
lege. About one hundred and sixty acres of land
were secured at Berkeley, but the college in 1866,
after thirteen years of struggle, was $49-000 in debt,
and affitirs in a bad way, with low funds and a lack of
students.
The attempt to found and establish a State univer-
sity had, up to this time, not been very successful, and
at the suggestion of Governor F. F. Low, tiie State
University, backed by funds, but with no buildings,
and the California College in need of funds, with build-
ings, experience, and professors, were consolidated;
at'the suggestion of Governor Low, the trustees of the
College of California, in August, 1867, offered to the
State'their site, etc. The State Board of Directors ac-
cepted the gift, receiving property consisting of the
four blocks in Oakland,the college and school buildings,
a library of 10,000 volumes, valuable homestead lots
in Berkeley, and one hundred and twelve acres of the
so-called -'mountain land," the whole estimated to be
worth SI 60,000, but from which liabilities amounting
to over S49,000 were to be subtracted, assumed, and
paid. At the request of the Board of Directors of the
State institution, the old College of California con-
tinued in life until the spring of 1869, there being in
1867 no State law under which the university could
be properly founded.
In March, 1868, a general Act was passed, entitled
"An Act to provide for the incorporation of such in-
stitutions of learning, science, and art as may be estab-
lished by the State.- March 5. 1868, the late Hon.
John W. Dwinelle introduced a bill for "an Act to
create and organize the University of California, and
this Act became a law on March 23. 1868 since ce e-
brated as Charter day. With- this Act the Legisla
ture appropriated $306,661.80. creating ^he Unive.sit>
fund and providing for a government by the Boa.d of
^Ihriite of the buildings at Berkeley is a very hand-
some one, being on rising ground, near the foothills,
PI^TEZ
View LOOKING W&^lr. ReS.OP M.<^-BL?0DEL,5ITU/kT^DOMEAST0AKLANDPlGHLM
^3 ?c ^-4- RVlNNtJMG. NoFLTH AND SoUTH^PaRTOF OaKI^ND, 5aN Fr/\N0ISGO , CiTY
£.eOAT ISliVNC
5 .SHOWING STREETS FROM ^4 TO ^7 5t5. RUNNING E AST y^ND WEST- ALSO AVENUES
D Bay, Golden Gate: mnd Paq^ij=(cOcean in the distance. 1 angel isifv-ND.
i.ALC-ATRAZ
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
17
which rise up in their rear to the height of several
hundred feet. There are about two hundred and
forty-five acres in the University grounds.
The buildings of the University proper consist of
the North and South Halls (the two oldest and larg-
est buildings), the Bacon Art and Library Building,
the College of Mining and Mechanical Arts, the Agri-
cultural Building, the Chemical Building and Labora-
tory, and the Electrical Building.
These are of fair architecture and good construction,
principally of brick and stone. The surrounding
grounds are being gradually improved and are already
quite attractive. The landscape gardening is after
plans suggested by Ex-State Engineer Hall. In Janu-
aiy, 1879, A. K. P. Harmon, of Oakland, donated to the
University a gymnasium building, which has been prop-
erly furnished. It is octagonal in shape, will seat one
thousand two hundred people, and is used as a place
for holding hops, lectures, commencement and simi-
lar exercises. In connection with the gymnasium are
a campus and cinder sprinting path. The North Hall
building has four stories and a ground area of one
hundred and sixty-six by sixty feet. It cost ^92,468
The South Hall has an area of one hundred and
fifty-two by fifty feet. Its architecture is superior and
its cost was ,g 198,000. The Bacon Art and Library
building is named after H. D. Bacon, of Oakland, who,
in November, 1877, donated to the Universit}- a fine
art collection, and $25,000, with a proviso that the
State appropriate ;g2'5,ooo additional for the erection
of a suitable library building and art galler3^ The
appropriation was made and the building erected.
There are, properly, two buildings in one. That front-
ing on the west is rectangular; the rear building is
semicircular. The front portion is eighty-eight by
thirty-eight feet. The center of the fagade rises into a
tower one hundred and two feet in height. The interior
arrangements are well designed. There are broad lob-
bies and stairways, an elevator, reading rooms, com-
mittee rooms, store rooms, and a large art gallery, well
lighted from the top. The rotunda of the library
portion is sixty-nine feet in diameter and fifty-seven feet
in height. It will hold ninety thousand volumes. There
are now in the gallery upward of fifty thousand books.
The art gallery contains many paintings and sculp-
tures by the best artists. The College of Mining and
Mechanical Arts is a three-story structure of brick,
stone, and iron, well furnished with mechanical appa-
ratus.
For the College of Agriculture, a substantial build-
ing has been erected. In connection with this college
is an experimental station, sustained by the United
States Government, and which receives reports from
various portions of the State on matters connected
with agriculture, horticulture, and viticulture. It has
a viticultural laboratory.
The Chemical Building and Laborator)/ is one ot
the most complete departments in the University, con-
sisting of two stories and basement.
Owing to the general uses to which electricity and
electrical appliances are being put, the Regents of the
L^niversity during the past year had a building erected,
at a cost of $56,000, used as a College of Electrical
and Mechanical Engineering.
There are twenty-two buildings in connection with
the State University and its grounds at Berkeley.
The cost of these buildings was $558,000, and the
further sum of $300,000 was expended for apparatus.
As there are about two hundred lady students attend-'
ing the University, the erection of a Woman's Build-
ing is in contemplation.
In addition to the buildings mentioned is the Stu-
dents' Observatory to the north, and the two-story
brick viticultural cellar on Strawberry Creek. There
are a number of cottages owned by the University
and occupied as homes by private individuals.
Besides these departments and buildings of the
University at Berkeley, are the Colleges of Law, Medi-
cine, Dentistry, and of Pharmacy, situated across the
bay, in San Francisco, and the Lick Observatory, on
Mount Hamilton, Santa Clara County, all of which
are under the care of the Board of Regents of the Uni-
\'ei'sit}', a brief history of which is subjoined.
In 1878 Hon. S. C. Hastings, now deceased, do-
nated $100,000 for the establishment of a Law College
in San Francisco, to be a component part of the State
University. This department is now prosperous and
efficient.
The Toland Medical Institute became merged in
the University in 1873, as the Medical Department of
the University of California. This was brought about
by gifts of the buildings and property in San Francisco,
b)' the late Dr. Toland. The property is valued at
about $25,000, and is used jointly by the Colleges of
Medicine and Dentistr}?. The latter expect to soon
have a separate building.
Though the gift of money and property in 1879,
for the formation of a College of Dentistry, came to
naught, a Dental Department was organized in 1882,
and its standard is now second to none in the country,
and is admitted to be unexcelled by any in Europe.
In 1872 a College of Pharmacy was incorporated
by private individuals and subsequently became one
of the integral portions of the University. It now has
a faculty of seven members, and the number of stu-
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
dents is constantly increasing. Most of the students
are engaged in work in the Medical Department.
Among the gifts to the State University were that
of the late Edward Tompkins, of Oakland, of forty-
seveil acres of land on New Broadway, for the estab-
lishment of the. Agassiz Professorship of Oriental
Languages; donotions by William and Eugene Hille-
gass and George M. Blake, of portions of the Univer-
sity site; the Michael Reese Library fund, of ;$50,000,
and the ^75.000 given in 1881 by D. O. Mills, to
found the chair of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy
and Civil Polity. The will of the late Dr. C. M.
Hitchcock, of Napa, bequeaths a certain portion of
his estate to the University, conditioned entirely upon
the failure of his daughter, Mrs. Lillie Coit, to leave
issue at her death. The possible value of this endow-
ment may be stated as ^25,000.
One of the greatest gifts to the Universit}" was the
$700,000 left by James Lick for the establishment of
a great astronomical observatory. This observatory,
located on Mount Hamilton, Santa Clara County, was
turned over to the Regents in 1888. The plant cost
$582,000. A graduate school or college in astron-
omy where a post-graduate course is given, is main-
tained. The income from the remainder of the gift is
hardly adequate for the maintenance of the depart-
ment, but the additional sum required is taken from
another portion of the University's revenue.
One of the features of the University of California is
its Museum of Natural History. The purpose and
scope of the museum ha\'e been, up to the present
time, first, to contain and furnish type collections for
class teaching; and, secondly, to put on exhibition
for the benefit of visitors all that could be made access-
ible. Its collection is gathered from all over the world.
The University of California furnishes facilities for
instruction in science, literature and the professions of
Law, Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy. In the col-
leges at Berkeley, namely, those of Letters, Agricul-
ture, Mining, Mechanics, Civil Engineering, Chemistry,
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Military
Science, these privileges are offered without charge
for tuition to all persons qualified for admission. The
professional colleges in San Francisco are self-sustain-
ing and only require moderate tuition fees. All
courses are open to all persons without distinction of
sex.
Its departments of instruction comprise the follow-
ing:
I. In Berkeley: — (i) The College of Letters: {a)
Classical Course; ib) Literary Course; {c) Course in
Letters and Political Science; (2) the College of Agri-
culture; (3) the College of Mechanics; (4) the College
of Mining; (5) the College of Ci\il Engineering; (6)
the College of Chemistry; (7) the College of Electri-
cal and Mechanical Engineering.
II. In San Francisco: — (i) The Hastings College of
the Law; (2) the Toland College of Medicine; (3) the
College of Dentistry; (4) the California College of
Pharmacy.
III. In Santa Clara County: — The Lick Astronom-
ical Department (Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton),
with a graduate School in Astronomy.
The total endowment of the University of Califor-
nia is nearly $7,000,000. The cash capital is $4,053,-
824.57, and the value of real and other property,
$2,899,954.72.
The Department of Military Science has for a num-
ber of years been one of the features of the University
of California. It includes two hours each week in
tactical instruction in the field, and one hour a week in
the stud}' of military science, engineering, fortifications,
strategy, tactics, ordinance, gunning, military law,
courts and boards, improvements in war, study of the
battles, etc. This department is in charge of an offi-
cer of the Regular Army of the United States, de-
tailed for that purpose by the Secretary of War. Its
standard in rank is No. i of all the military schools
in the United States. It i.s composed of all the able-
bodied male undergraduate students for four years in
the colleges at Berkeley, and any claiming e.xemption
are required to undergo medical e.xamination. Those
over twentv-four years of age and foreigners may be
excused. The battalion last year comprised three
hundred cadets, divided into si.x companies, with the
necessary field, staff and company officers, commis-
sioned by the Governor, from the battalion, under the
law of the State. The course of instruction pursued
is in accordance with rules prescribed by the President
of the United States, and is divided into a Practical
and a Theoretical Course. In the latter part of April
each year the department is inspected by an In-
spector-General of the United States Army, who re-
ports to the Secretary of War. The uniform is dark
blue, except the officers' trousers, which are a light
blue.
From Mr. James Sutton, the Recorder of the Fac-
ulties of the University, the following accurate sta-
tistics of the students in attendance in the various de-
partments for the year 1892-93 were obtained: —
Men. Women. Totals.
Departments.
ACADEMIC
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
PROFESSIONAL.
Law
Medicine
Dentistry
Pharmacy
Lick Astronomical
Totals.
31
399
iiS
86
114
99
4
851
40
582
114
103
4
PLATE 8
.::,^^^^^t^[
RES. Of £DWIN WH!
PLE,D£e0TO,GAL.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
19
There is no tuition charged at the seven colleges
situated in Berkeley, viz.: The Colleges of Agriculture,
Mechanics, Mining, Chemistry, Engineering, and Let-
ters. Small tuition fees are charged students in the
colleges of Law, Medicine Dentistry, and Pharmacy
in San Francisco. The only other Universities of the
larger class in the United States that do not charge
tuition are the Leland Stanford Jr., at Palo Alto, Cali-
fornia, and the Kansas University, though the charges
at the Michigan and several others are light.
In an article recently written by Miss Millicent W.
Shinn, a graduate of the University of California, the
following comparisons of the great Universities are
made, with reference to capital, income, teachers, and.
students.
Total wealth of (i i Columbia College, $18,000,000;
(2) Harvard, $16,700,000; (3) Yale, $11,000,000; (4)
Michigan, $9,000,000; (5) California, $8,130,720; (6)
Cornell, $8,000,000; (7) Pennsylvania, $6,800,000.
The annual incomes from these are estimated at $1,-
026,738 for Harvard ; Columbia, $800,000; Yale, $499,-
720; Michigan, $400,000; Cornell, $350,000; California,
$306,661, and Pennsylvania, $275,000. The Universi-
ties of Wisconsin, City of New York, Boston, Ne-
braska, Johns Hopkins, and Vanderbilt she finds range
in incomes from $101,500 to $82,987. Mi.ss Shinn
says she can find no financial statements fi'om Prince-
ton College, nor from the Leland Stanford Jr. Univer-
sity, but as near as she could ascertain, these two
and the Chicago University have incomes between
$100,000 and $200,000. In a comparative table,
showing the number of students, Miss Shinn places
the University of California as seventh in the list, with
one thousand and seventy-nine for 1892, with Michi-
igan University at the head, having two thousand six
hundred and ninety-three students. California stands
fifth in the list as regards teachers, having one hun-
dred and ninety-four; Harvard leads the list, with two
hundred and fifty-three, Columbia, two hundred and
twenty-six ; Yale, two hundred and twenty-five, and
Pennsylvania, two hundred and seven; Michigan, with
more than double the students, compared with Califor-
nia, has only one hundred and forty-nine instructors.
The proportion of graduate students to the under-
graduate and professional in the University of Califor-
nia is the same as that of Michigan, Boston, and
Wisconsin, and is one per cent below Yale and Penn-
sylvania, four per cent below Harvard, seven per cent
below Cornell, and nine per cent below Columbia.
The opening of the great Leland Stanford Jr. Uni-
versity at Palo Alto has had no injurious effect upon
the University of California, but, on the other hand, the
student roll of the State Institution shows a larger in-
crease during the past two }-ears than ever before.
INSTITUTION FOR DEAF AND DUMB AND
THE BLIND.
An account of the origin and purpose of the State School.
The special education necessary to the deaf and
dumb and the blind, has been munificently provided
for b)' the State, at the Berkelej' Institution. Such
children as are imfortunate enough to be deprived of
either of the senses of sight or hearing are there pro-
vided for, free of all cost.
The State Institution is as much a part of the public-
school system of California as is the State University.
Founded by a committee of ladies, on the 17th of
March, i860, the Institution grew year by year, until, '
in 1864, the Legislature assumed complete control,
and appointed a State Board of Trustees.
On December i, 1865, Mr. Warring Wilkinson, of
the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb,
entered upon the duties of Superintendent, which
position he still retains, Since that time the school
has experienced many vicissitudes of fortune.
At the Legislative session of 1866, a commission to
purchase a tract and erect suitable buildings was ap-
pointed. The Commissioners organized on the 1 0th
of April, 1866, and bids for sites were immediately
advertised, in various and widely-circulated papers.
After mature deliberation, the Commissioners unani-
mously selected a tract of one hundred and thirty .
acres, known as the Kearney farm. This site is lo-
cated on the foothills above Berkeley, four and a half
miles to the north of the city of Oakland. It pos-
sesses a sulubrious climate, devoid of the sharp winds
of San Francisco, and the extreme heat of the inte-
rior valleys. It commands a magnificent view of the
Bay of San Francisco and the Golden Gate, and its
location cannot be surpassed for health, or for the
beauty of its surroundings.
A fine stone building was erected, and occupied in
the autumn of 1869. This edifice had the misfortune
to be destroyed by fire on Sunday afternoon, January
I7i 1^75- A temporary wooden building was erected
on the same site, until an appropriation could be ob-
tained from the Legislature for new permanent build-
ings. The Legislature, at the session of 1875, set
aside $1 10,000 for that purpose.
The loss of the previous building, by fire, was
deemed of sufficient weight to justify the Board of
Directors in adopting the plan of segregated build-
ings. These were erected upon designs executed by
Messrs. Wright and Sanders, of San Francisco. This
system permits additions to be easily made to the In-
stitution, as necessity may require. The buildings at
present consist of a fine central Educational building.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
Avhich contains, in addition to the class rooms, a mag-
nificent Assembly Hall, Librar}', Art Galler}-, and
Executive offices. This and all the buildings are
constructed of massive red brickwork, upon heavy
foundations of blue stone, ornamented with granite
abutments, cornices, and sills.
To the rear of the Educational building is the Re-
fectory, containing a great dining hall, pantries, store-
rooms, and a splendid kitchen. Beneath the Refec-
tory is a fine Gymna.sium, fitted with the improved
apparatus supplied by Dr. Sargent, of Harvard. These
buildings are flanked by four homes, which serve for
the accommodation of the pupils and teachers. All
.are fireproof, and perfect in sanitation. In the rear
of this collection is a bakeshop and a cooking school,
where the girls are trained in the art of cookery. Near
by stands a complete steam laundry, an engine house,
and an electric-light plant. Still farther in the back-
ground are the carpenter shops, and the printing of-
fice, where a weekly paper is set up and published by
the pupils. Fine playgrounds, lawns, and flower beds
give ample scope for the amusement and delectation
of the scholars outdoors. Several large orchards
furnish a good supply of fruits, a large kitchen garden
supplying its quota of vegetables, while a magnificent
herd of Holstein-Jerseys provides the Institution with
milk and cream.
The education of the deaf mutes is conducted upon
the now generally-accepted Combined System, which
includes instruction by the aid of signs and the Man-
ual Alphabet, and also a course of articulation and lip
reading. The school course follows very closely that
which is pursued in the ordinary public, grammar, and
high schools. After graduation, several of the pupils
have entered and completed courses in the University.
In addition to the ordinary school work, the Insti-
tution possesses all the requirements of a technical In-
stitute. The male pupils receive tuition in carpenter-
ing, cabinet work, printing, and gardening, whilst all
are eligible for instruction in drawing. One of the
graduates has already received high honors in the
World of Art. Mr. Douglas Tilden was awarded the
certificate of Honorable Mention at the French Salon
in 1889. The girls, both the blind and the deaf, take
lessons in cookery from a certified instructor.
The blind are trained in piano and organ playing,
voice culture, and typewriting. The Institution pos-
sesses a great pipe organ, the gift of Messrs. Wright
&. Sanders, the architects of the buildings. The deaf
girls receive lessons in sewing. The pupils have also
a perfectly-organized Literary Association, known as
the De I'Epee Society, as well as first-class baseball
and football clubs. Several scholarships from private
bequests are available for the assistance of deserving
pupils.
The past year had a combined attendance of fully two
hundred scholars. Mr. Warring Wilkinson, the Prin-
cipal, is assisted by an efficient and enthusiastic corps
of instructors.
The affairs of the Institution are under the manage-
ment of a Board of Directors, appointed by the Gov-
ernor of the State, and consisting of W. C. Bartlett,
LL.D., President; Rev. J. K. McLean, D. D,, Vice
President; ex-Governor G. C. Perkins, Messrs. John
W. Coleman, Warren Olney, and W. L. Prather, Sec-
retary and Treasurer.
Alameda County is highly favored in having this
truly magnificent school, second to none of its kind in
the world, situated in its midst; and the Institution of-
fers a strong inducement to parents with deaf or blind
children, to make the county their home.
F. O'D.
See plate No. 1 1 .
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The pride of the American people is the free public
school system. Germany, with its compulsory sys-
tem of education, under governmental control, cannot
compare with the free public school system of the
United States. In the matter of education, California,
one of the younger States in the great federation, is
abreast of the times and behind none of her sisters.
This was shown by her teachers and scholars during
the visit of the National Educational Convention to
California a few years since. Alameda County ranks
as one of the highest in the great western common-
wealth, both in the examination of its public school-
teachers and in the grade of its schools, while Oak-
land, the county seat, has for years been called the
Athens of the Pacific Coast, in deference to its learn-
ing and culture. The statistics of the county show
that of the census children an exceedingly small per
cent do not attend some school — public, private, or
parochial.
There are in the county, outside of the cities of Oak-
land, Berkeley, and Alameda, fifty public school dis-
tricts, governed by Boards of School Trustees chosen
by the electors of the districts. In round numbers
there is an aggregate number of eight thousand
school census children in these districts. The enroll-
ment in the public schools in these outside districts
shows about eighty per cent, with an average daily
attendance of sixty per cent. In these districts there
are three Union High Schools, created under an Act
of the State Legislature of 1S91. Number One of
Illustrated album of alameda county.
these is located at Livermore, Murray Township, and
embraces advanced pupils from nine school districts.
Number Two is at Centerville, Washington Township,
and includes ten school districts. Union High School,
Nunber Three, is located at Hayward, Eden Township,
with six school districts. In nearly all the schools are
grammar grades. Eight of them have more than
three departments and seventeen of them have more
than one department. There are grammar grades in
upward of forty of them. School is maintained in all
for ten months in each year. The average salary paid
to teachers is $yo per month for the ten months. Tlie
number of teachers in the fifty public school districts
is one hundred and twenty-two.
The present revenue of the public schools of Ala-
meda County, as given by the County Superintend-
ent, George W. Prick, and City Superintendents, J.
W. McClymonds and D. J. Sullivan, of Oakland and
Alameda, is as follows: —
Oakland .
Alameda.
Berkeley..
Outside.. .
Totals |t03.356
County Ta.x.jState Tax. District Tax
I .50,984 $146,881
12,004 34.176
6,079 17,020
34,289 100,867
$298.944
^112,526
20,446
49.17S
$182,250
The total expenses for the past }'ear for the public
Bchools of the county were as follows:, —
Oakland ,^3 '9.734
Alameda 8 1 ,873
Berkeley 24,919
Outside districts .137,492
Total ^564,018
The school tax rate for the county was ten cents on
the $100 valuation. The Oakland rate was twenty-
se\'en cents additional, which includes five cents for
scluHil bond redemption and interest.
h'\'ery school district in the county has a school lot
and building, and seventy-five per cent of these are
above the average country schoolhouses, being good
buildings with large ornamented grounds Ten or
twelve of the schoolhouses are almost entirely new
and are of the most modern construction. Only about
a dozen are small structures, unadorned and with un-
ornamented grounds, and these will not long remain
so, as the matter of larger grounds and new buildings
is being agitated. The total aggregate value of the
real property and improvements in these outside dis-
tricts is ;^284,924. Over every district schoolhouse,
or from a flag pole in their yard, floats the stars and
stripes, and the children are taught loyalty to the
government under which they live. Each school dis-
trict has a library, and a certain amount of the annual
tax is set aside for additions to the libraries.
The annexed tableshows the value of the school
property ofthecount)^ up to January i, 1893, includ-
ing real estate and improvements, libraries, and appa-
ratus.
Localities.
Real Estate and
Improvements.
Libraries.
Apparatus-
"$492,040
190,000
25,OCO
262,205
1 3.300
900
275
14.509
$6,000
989
250
8,210
Total
$969,245
I18.984
$15,469
*NoTE. — The impi-ovemenis in the Oakland school property during
93 will bring its value up to about $1,500,000.
The total value of the .school property in the county
Oakland ^1,001,340
Alameda 191,889
Berkeley 25,525
Outside districts 284,924
Total ;$ 1, 503,678
PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING.
There are a number of private educational institu-
tions in Alameda County, where collegiate and aca-
demic educations may be obtained by those desiring to
send their children to these institutions rather than
to those of the State or county.
Prominent among them is Mills College, founded
nearly thirty years ago, by the late Rev. C. T. Mills,
D. D., and his wife, Mrs. Susan L. Mills, as a seminary
for young ladies. It is situated on e.xtensive grounds
in Brooklyn Township, about five miles east of the
center of Oakland, and is reached by two lines of
steam railroad, as well as by an electric street railway.
In 1877 it was endowed largely by Dr. Mills and Mrs.
Mills and incorporated as a college, and its property
is held by a Board of Trustees, for the Christian,
but unsectarian, education of 3'oung women. Its cur
riculum embraces the usual college courses. Its
graduates number- hundreds and are settled all over
the Union as well as in other lands. The annual .at-
tendance is about two hundred. It has been under
the management, since the death of Dr. Mills, princi-
pally of Mrs. Mills, with the trustees. She is now
the President of the Institution.
At Irvington, on the line of railroad between Oak-
laud and San Jose, and within about a mile and a half
of the old Mission of San Jose, the site of the first
Spanish and American settlement in the county, is
the Washington College for boys and girls. It in-
cludes a preparatory and a commercial department,
as well as the collegiate. For a time it was under
the control of the members of the Christian Church
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
and its teachings were slightly sectarian in that line,
but of late years it has been unsectarian, while evan-
gelically Christian in its teaching. Its attendance has
been from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and
seventy-five.
At Livermore is situated the Livermore College, an
institution similar to the one at Irvington, for the ed-
ucation of both sexes. It has an annual attendance of
about one hundred and twenty-five and graduates a
class every year, many of the graduates being from
distant points. It is under the superintendence of
Professor J. D. Smith, who is the President of the Col-
lege.
Within the boundaries of the City of Oalcland are
a number of private educational institutions. One of
the oldest of these is the Field Seminary, on Telegraph
Avenue, established by Miss Harriet Field in 1870.
It is called a home school for girls. It is now under
the principalship of Mrs. W. B. Hyde.
The Snell Seminary, on Twelfth Street, near Cla}-,
is also a school for young ladies that is very popular
and annually graduates a large class of young women
prepared for the active duties of life. Richard B. and
Miss Mary E. Snell are the principals.
A school for young men is that of the Hopkins
Academy, under Profes.sor W. W. Anderson, as prin-
cipal. It is situated between Thirty-second and Thirt)'-
fourth Screets, New Broadway, and Telegraph Avenue.
The graduates are admitted to the State University
without entrance examination. It was endowed by
the late Moses Hopkins some years ago and Mrs.
Hopkins promises another endowment. The trustees
are looking for a larger site.
The Pacific Theological Seminary, the denomina-
tional school of the Congregational Churclies of
Northern and Central California, for the education of
\-oung men for the ministry, is also situated in Oak-
Imd, on grounds adjoining the Hopkins Academy.
It has a full faculty and contains the usual chairs of
such an institution, and each year graduates a class of
young men fully equipped and prepared for the Chris-
tian ministry. During the present year efforts are be-
ing made to increase the endowments and facilities of
the Seminary.
About tvifenty-eight years ago Archbishop Alemany,
of San Francisco, founded a school for boys, which
was carried on by the clergy of the church, under his
supervision, for eight or ten years. It was then trans-
ferred to the care of the Order of Christian Brothers,
and was conducted by them in the outskirts of San
Francisco, near the Mission road. In 1888 the corner-
stone of a new structure was laid on New Broadway,
Oakland, and a magnificent building, complete in all
its appointments, five stories in height, erected. In
1 89 1 the school was transferred to this building. Its
curriculum embraces the usual classical, scientific, and
literary college courses. There is also a preparatory
school and commercial course. An exhibit from this
college and model of the building is on exhibition at
the Columbian Exposition.
The California College, at Highland Park, Oakland,
is the denominational college of the Baptist Church. It
is also a preparatory school for the denominational
theological seminar\^ It has the usual academic and
college courses.
Aside from the colleges, seminaries, and academies
mentioned, there are also two commercial colleges,
where special education is given for commercial busi-
ness. One of these is the Oakland Business College
and Institute of Penmanship, on Clay Street, near
Ele\enth, conducted by Professor O. J. Willis. The
other is situated on the second floor of the Young
Men's Christian Association building, at Clay and
Twelfth Streets, conducted by Professor J. H. A)'de-
lotte. Both these schools have large classes in the
usual commercial school courses.
CHAPTER IV.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
Salt Works— Beet Sugar Factory — Soap, Iron, and Nail Works
—Car Works — Agricultural Works— Oil Refineries— Paint
Works — Cotton, Jute, Planing, and Flouring Mills — Tile,
Terra Cotta, and Art Pottery— Brick Yards- Tanneries,
etc.
Nowhere on the Pacific Coast is there a situation
better adapted to the erection and carrying on of all
kinds of manufactures than on the Alameda County
shores of the Bay of San Francisco, and along the
banks of the estuary of San Antonio, or Oakland Creek.
This lias been exemplified already by the several
industries already carrying on works on these shores,
and there are still hundreds of locations suitable, and
with the rapid growth there is no doubt that many
more of these sites may soon be occupied. They are
near rail transportation, as well as being close to deep
water, thus handy for shipping to the interior or east,
as well as loading on vessels for coast, Mexican,
South American, Hawaiian, Australian or Oriental
ports. A brief account will be given of some of the
manufactories and works already established. Some
of them have been in successful operation a number
of years.
MANUFACTURE OF SALT.
A Pioneer Industry of Alameda County and of the State.
Alameda County is the pioneer of the Pacific Coast
m the salt industr)- and is now the principal place
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
23
where salt is gathered in CaUfornia. As early as
1850, at New Haven, now Alvarado, salt deposits
were gathered, and for a long time the entire com-
monwealth depended upon it for the supply. Its out-
put now is very large and last year aggregated thirty-
seven, thousand eight hundred and fifty tons or thirty-
seven million eight hundred and fifty thousand
pounds. There are no less than eighteen different
salt beds along the shores. Of these that of the
Solar Salt Company of B. F. Barton is shown in plate
No. 21 of this album. There was gathered at these
beds last year two million five hundred thousand
pounds of salt. His works are at Alvarado, and Hear
his works, at the same place, are four others, making
from five hundred to fifteen hundred tons annually, or
an aggregate of fifty-six hundred tons. At Newark
there is only one firm engaged, but it gathers and
prepares for market four thousand tons of salt. At
Russell's Station two thousand two hundred tons are
gathered up by three persons. At Mount Eden the
largest quantities are gathered, one company prepar-
ing twelve thousand tons annually, another five thou-
sand, and several two thousand tons. At this place
last year twenty-two thousand tons or twenty-two
million pounds were gathered up and prepared for
market.
During the salt season over two hundred la-
borers are employed; one steamer and seven sailing
vessels are kept busy transporting the salt from these
beds, which range along the shore for nearly eight
miles. This salt is sold at prices ranging frpm ,$7.00
to $14 per ton, and that which is refined by the larger
companies is held to be equal to the best Liverpool
salt. In passing along the railroad between San.Le-
andro and Newark it is an interesting sight to see the
great white pyramids along the bay shore. The
process followed is that of spontaneous evaporation of
the water of the Bay of San Francisco similar to that
used on the shores of the Mediterranean. A large
piece of land varying from one to several acres barely
above high-water mark is leveled, and in some in-
stances puddled with clay so as to prevent the water
from percolating and sinking away. A reservoir is
constructed alongside also rendered impervious, in
which the water is stored and allowed to settle to a
certain extent.
The prepared land is partitioned off into large
basins or setting reservoirs, and others, smaller in size
and more shallow, to receive the water as it becomes
more and more concentrated, sufficient fall being al-
lowed from one set of basins to the other to cause the
water to flow slowly through them. This sea salt,
after the water has been all drained off, is then col-
lected into small heaps or rows from the surface of
the beds by means of a wooden scoop or scraper, and
is allowed to stand for a time where it undergoes a
first partial purification, the more deliquescent salts
(especially the magnesium chloride) being allowed to
drain away. From these small heaps and rows it is
gathered into larger ones or pyramids, where it drains
further and becomes more purified. Some of the
larger companies make a refined product by taking it
to the refinery, where it is either washed and stove
dried, or dissolved in fresh water and then boiled
down .and crystallized like that made from the rock
salt brine, but the most of it goes into commerce just
as it comes from the large heaps and pyramids at the
salt beds.
The Solar Salt Works shown in plate 21 have seven
hundred acres of marsh land, divided into reservoirs,
settling ponds, and crystallizing vats. The capacity is
five thousand tons yearly of crystalline salt.
MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR FROM BEETS.
The Pioneer Beet Sugar Factory of the United States, Located
in Alameda County.
The pioneer beet sugar factory of the United States
was erected at Alvarado, Alameda County, California,
in 1869, with a capacity of sixty tons of beets daily.
After running four seasons, at a great loss, the ma-
chinery was removed and re-erected at Soquel, Santa
Cruz County, and run two or three seasons at a loss,
when it was closed down. In 1879 another factor}'
was erected at Alvarado by E H. D3'er & Co., for the
Standard Sugar Company, and E. H. Dyer appointed
General Manager. It commenced operations in the
fall of that year. Its daily capacity was eight}' tons
of beets, and its cost about $300,000. In the first
four seasons a net profit of 1103,349.63 was made.
This factory was run eight seasons, when the works
were destroyed by a boiler explosion. Owing to the
low prices of sugar, the profits the last four seasons
were very small.
In the year 1889, E. H. Dyer & Co. erected an-
other factory at Alvarado, which is still running.
It was incorporated under the name of the Pacific
Coast Sugar Company, and had a daily capacity of
one hundred and fifty tons of beets. In 1890 a con-
trolling interest was sold to San Francisco capitalists,
who re-incorporated as the Alameda Sugar Company
and enlarged the works to a daily capacity of upward
of two hundred tons of beets. The cost of the pres-
ent works was about ,$350,000. The officers of the
company are: John S. Howard, President; James Cof-
fin, Secretary; E. C. Burr, Manager, and J. W. Atkin-
son, Superintendent.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
There are hundreds of acres in Alameda County
suitable for the cultivation of the sugar beet for profit.
It demands a soil easy to till, one that is loose and
pliable, but not too sandy. It also requires proper
preparation before and cultivation and care after
planting. The best results have been obtained bj- a
deep plowing a month or two previous to seeding,
say twelve or fourteen inches, or with two plowings,
the first about nin.e inches and a second sub.soil
plowing of si.x to eight inches deeper. The plowing
is done in the early winter so that the atmospheric
influences destroy the cohesion of the soil and at the
same time kill any insects that may be present.
The reason for the deep cultivation is that the
point of the beet root ma)' penetrate the earth deeply
without resistance, so as to produce as few rootlets as
possible, and form a beet of good size and conical
shape. It also allows it to develop without crowding
itself out of the ground, producing better in weigiit
and in percentage of suger. The seeding, done from
early in March to May, according to location— up-
land or lowland — must be carefully done, and the
best results are said to be obtained where the seed is
only covered to the depth of half an inch to one inch.
The cultivation of the beet requires the greatest care,
both in regard to keeping out the weeds and in work-
ing the soil. They mature from August i to Oc-
tober 15, according to location and date of planting.
The largest acreage of the sugar beet in Alameda
County is near Alvarado, and nearly all the land suit-
able for its cultivation in that vicinity has been used
for the purpose at different periods during the past
twenty years, but not all at the same time. It was at
first difficult to get the farmers to understand the ne-
cessity of carefiil cultivation (the company does not
cultivate the beets , and the consequence was a less
price received b\' them and less percentage in sif^ar.
The average price paid at the Alvarado factory is
about $5.00 per ton. From ten to fifteen tons are
produced on an acre, thus averaging from S50 to S75
to the farmer, less the expense of farm labor, etc. A
few hundred acres were planted to beets near Pleas-
anton last season and the product was handled at the
factory at Alvarado.
The Alameda Sugar Factory at Alvarado turns
out, when running full blast, day and night, with two
shifts of hands, forty thousand to fifty thousand pounds
of white sugar daily. Eighty men are employed in
the factory in the various- departments, and during the
last season, between September 15 and December
25, fifteen thousand tons, or thirty million pounds,
of beets were handled, two hundred to two hundred
and fifty tons per day, and fifteen hundred tons or
three million pounds of white sugar turned out. The
last season was considered a good one for the farmers
and the factory. Several tons of beets, grown near
Antioch, Contra Costa Count)-, were shipped to the
factory at Alvarado last year.
The works are situated on Alameda Creek, a small
stream which runs down from the foothills and emp-
ties into San Francisco Ba)\ but is not navigable. It
is also on the line of the South Pacific Coast Division
(narrow gauge) of the Southern Pacific Company's
system.
The process used at the factor)' at Ah'arado is
known as the diffusion process. The beets used are
a highly cultivated variety of the Beta Maritima (sea
beet), natural order Cfioiopodacecs, the seeds of which
are imported from Germany and France, where the
greatest care is e.xercised in the production, with a
view to obtaining beets with the highest percentage of
sugar. This ranges from fifteen to eighteen per cent,
but the average beets produce from twelve to fifteen
l)er cent ofsugar. There are at least fifteen different
varieties grown in California, and se\'eral of these are
shown in jars in the Alameda County Exhibit, as well
as the sugar at different stages of its manufacture at
the Alvarada factor)'. The varieties mostly used in
Alameda County are the Klein-VVauzleben, white;
Vilmorin, white; White Silesian and Improved Im-
perial, rose and white.
The limit of the average composition of the sugar
beet is given below: —
Water Juice . . 84. 5 to 70.0
Sugar and other soluble bodies | j, .. I 1 1.5 to 17.0
Cellulo.se and other solids . . . . j' ^°''<J'"- "j ^ q f,j ^ q
The non-.saccharine solids in the juice are \erv
comple.x, embracing albumen, amido-acids and other
nitrogenous bodies, beet-root gum, soluble pectdre,
compounds, fat, coloring matter, with the phosphates,
sulphates, oxatates, and citrates of potash, soda, iron,
lime, and silica.
The process of manufacture of sugar from the beet
is an exceedingly interesting one, when it is consid-
ered that at no period, from the moment the juice is
taken from the beet until it reaches the \acuum pan,
where it is boiled, does it remain more than five min-
utes in any one place, but is kept constantly moving.
It will sour in less than half an hour if allowed to stop
anywhere during the process.
The beets are pulled up and sacked in the field,
then hauled in wagons by the farmer to the factory,
weighed and dumped in long bin-like shed.s, which
have a water trough, or flume, running along under-
neath the center. When the water is turned on, the
beets are carried b)' it into a tank in the lower part of
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
25
the factory, where they are washed by a revolving
wheel, carried by it to an elevator, which conducts
them to the slicing machine, in which a large drum or
cylinder, armed with close set rows of blades revolv-
ing with great rapidity slices them up into strips about
one-eighth of an inch square and differing in length
from two to six inches, according to the size of tiie
beet. The slices are then conducted to the diffusion
battery, which consists of twelve cells, or diffusers, ar-
ranged in circular form, nine being in use, while the
other three are being emptied, cleaned, and refilled.
A brief description of the diffusion process might well
be added at this point. This process for obtaining
the juice depends on the action of dialysis, in which
two liquids of different degrees of concentration, sep-
■ arated by a membrane, tend to transfuse through the
membrane until the equilibrium of solution is attained.
In the beet the cell walls are membranes inclosing a
solution of sugar. The theory of the process is that
if these cells be brought into contact with pure water,
and that they contain twelve per cent of sugar, trans-
fusion will go on until an equal weight of water con-
tains six per cent of sugar, while by the passage of
water into the cell the juice there is reduced to the
same density. Taking the six per cent water solu-
tion, and with it treating fresh roots or slices, contain-
ing twelve per cent of sugar, a nine per cent solution
will be attained, which on being brought a third time
in contact with fresh roots, could be raised to a den-
sity often and five-tenths. According to this, theo-
retically, seven-eighths of the whole sugar would be
obtained at the third operation, and on this is based
the process of diffusion.
The diffusers mentioned are large, close, upright
cylinders, each capable of holding two or three tons of
sliced beets. They are provided with manholes
above, perforated false bottoms, and pipes communi-
cating with each other, so that the fluid contents of
any one can be forced by pressure into any other. In
working the process, pure water from an elevated
tank is run into No. i cylinder, which contains the
sliced beets almost exhausted of their soluble con-
tents; it percolates the mass, and by pressure passes
into No. 2, where it acts on slices richer in juice.
From No. 2 it goes on through the entire series, ac-
quiring density in its progress, and in each successive
cylinder meeting slices increasingly rich in juices.
Prior to its entering the last cylinder, the watery juice
is heated, and under the combined influence of heat
and pressure, becomes richly charged with sugar.
No. I cylinder, when exhausted, is disconnected, and
the pulp passes to a steam press, where all the re-
maining water is expressed, and it is carried outside
the building and hauled away by the farmers for fod-
der. No. 2 cylinder becomes No. i, and a newly-
charged cylinder is added on, and thus the operation
goes on continuously during the entire season, night
and day. It is said that it requires t>vo weeks' instruc-
tion to enable a man to properly understand the
handling of a diffusion battery.
From the diffusion battery the juice passes into a
large tank, where it is heated by steam vapor and
passes to the carbolization process, where carbonic
acid and lime are added to clarify it. It passes
through three of these processes, and after the third
carbolization, goes into the filter process, where, pass-
ing through three of these, the lime is extracted, and
the clear, pure, but thin and watery juice is carried
into a series of closed vessels, or tanks, called the
quadruple effect, where it is thickened. These tanks
are provided internally with a series of closed pipes for
steam vapor heating, the steam passing by a pipe
from the first one into the worm of the second and so
on to the third and fourth. The thickened juice
passes from the fourth tank of the quadruple effect
into a reservoir and from there is drawn into a large
closed tank on the fourth floor of the factory, called
the vacuum pan, in which it is boiled about four
hours at a low temperature. This pan is a closed
globular vessel, in which by the aid of a condenser
and air pump, a vacuum is maintained over the boiling
juice, and the boiling point is lowered in proportion
to the decrease of air pressure. This immense vessel
will hold about thirty tons of the thickened juice.
When it has been sufficiently crystallized, the boiled-
down juice, being a grainy mass of crystals floating in
fluid syrup, then called "magma," is transferred to
the mixing pans, which are kept constantly moving to
prevent solidifying, and from these is fed into the
drums or buckets of the centrifugal machines.
A small quantity is dropped into these machines
and they are set in motion, revolving at a high rate
of speed, which separates the crystals and sirup, the
latter being driven through the meshes of the basket,
while the crystals remain on the meshed walls. For
the further cleaning of the sugar crystals, water is
sprinkled upon them from a hose while the machine is
in motion. The sirup is returned for reboiling and
the sugar passes into receptacles, frorn whence it is
conducted to the drier, a revolving steam drum, and
comes out a pure, dry, granulated white sugar, which
is placed in one hundred pound sacks or in barrels
for the market.
From the second boiling of the sirup, a brown
sugar is made, hut it is in turn worked over and man-
ufactured into white. The final molasses, or tailing's.
26
LLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
is a highl)' impure mixture of crystallizable potash
and other salts, smelling and tasting strongly of its
beet origin. No attempt is made at the Alvarado
factory, on account of the high price of fuel, etc., to
recover the large amount of sugar, forty to fifty per
cent, contained in this molasses, though in Germany
and France several methods are employed, one being
by fermenting and distilling from it an impure spirit
for industrial purposes.
In the process a great deal of lime is used, and the
company burn their own limestone, using fifteen tons
daily at their kiln.
THE ALAMEDA BORAX REFINERY.
A Picific Coast Product Prepared for Market in Alameda
County.
At Alameda Transfer, a little railroad station upon
the Bay of San Francisco, the Southern Pacific Com-
pany switches onto the side track of the Pacific Coast
Borax Company's Refinerj? not less than sex'en or
eight car loads of fifteen tons each of crude borax
every week in the year. At a similar rate the refined
product is reshipped either by car or upon schooners
from the end of the little wharf During the period
of detention of this material at the works, an interest-
ing chemical romance has been enacted. "It is a
story of fickle affinities, wherein, as often happens
with such affinities elsewhere, the two fickle ones
unite in a waste combination, while the deserted
ones get together and make a respectable and \-alua-
ble product."
The rough, broken masses of bi'own colored rock,
a borate of lime, have been transformed by the agency
of mechanical energy, and the wonderful alchemy of
chemistry into beautiful, translucent crystals of pure
borax, a staple product known to every druggist and
grocer, and coming into use in every household.
Borax is distinctively a Pacific Coast product,
being found nowhere else in North America. Since
the important discoveries in 1873, California and Ne-
vada have furnished an ample supply for the domestic
consumption. This has steadily increased from five
million pounds in 1876 to fourteen millions in 1892,
or more than doubling every ten years.
It is to the credit of the Pacific Coast producers
that the price has steadily declined, till now borax is
not only within the reach of all, but one of the cheap-
est articles of household economy. This is the more
important as wherever used it seems to become indis-
pensable.
The most nqted region yielding this valuable staple
is the world-fenowned Death Valley, in Inyo County.
This valley lies two hundred feet below sea level, and
is intensely hot and dry, though not necessarily as
deadly as has been supposed. Borax deposits are
usually thinly spread over the surface of low ground.
The Death Valley deposit extends upon higher
ground, and the later sources of main supply are deep
beneath the surface At Calico, near Dagget, in San
Bernardino County, the borate of lime is found in
ledges or veins of crystal, which require mining and
pulverizing before the borax can be separated from
the residuum.
The Alameda Refinery is an interesting establish-
ment for two reasons: First, the fact that it is the only
borax refinery on the coast, and probably the largest
in the world. Second, the fascinating character of the
mechanical and chemical processes there carried on.
The purity of the article and cleanliness of all the
operations give the factory somewhat the character
of a flouring mill. The crude material passes first
through rock breakers, then to mills, rolls, and burr-
stones, till finely pu.verized. It is then, with a small
portion of carbonate of soda, also a product of the
deserts of California, thrown into an immense steam
chest, or pressure boiler, called a digester, probably
the hughest stomach now known, where, under heat,
pressure, and agitation, the existing affinities are com-
pletely upset. The carbonic acid drops the soda, and
unites with the lime, which yields its boracic acid.
The latter quickly unites with a small portion of the
soda, and we have a bi-borate of sodium, the chemist's
name for bora.x. It is j'et, however, in solution, and
must be drawn off into large tanks to crystallize.
Here the pure product forms by successive crystalli-
zations upon thousands of tiny steel rods, as rock
candy crystallizes upon a thread. This process is re-
peated until a proper degree of purit)' is reached,
when the refined borax is ready for market, though
powdered for many uses.
The meat packers of the Great West consume large
quantities in the dry packing of meat for export.
Some fifty mechanical industries employ borax, but
we ai-e told the largest use is in the household, for the
toilet, nursery, kitchen, and laundry, where its inno-
cence and purity render it as safe as it is effective and
economical for cleansing and preserving.
Few travelers passing in sight of the borax works
realize either the interesting nature of the manufac-
ture or the immense quantity of this staple turned out.
The year's output would load a train of five hundred
cars with ten tons each. If packed in the neat paste-
board packages on sale everywhere, labeled "Pure
Borax from the Deserts of California and Nevada,"
and these were laid in a single line so as to touch, it
would stretch out seven hundred miles away.
CALIFORNIA deaf.dUmb A|ND Bl
PLATE 11 ,
^D INSTITUTION, BERKELEY, CAL
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
27
PACIFIC COAST OIL WORKS.
Extensive Plant for Refining the Crude Petroleum Found in
California.
On account of the nearness to market and railroad
.facilities the Pacific Coast Oil Company's Works were
established on Pacific Avenue, Alameda. The works
are. extensive and cover a large tract on the bay
shore. The plant consists of thirty-five tanks, two of
which hold forty thousand barrels, and the remainder
from seventy to two thousand barrels each. The agita-
tors, one for treating illuminating oils, holding one
thousand barrels, and two for treating lubricating oils,
holding one hundred and thirty barrels each, two bleach-
ing tanksof one thousand barrels each, eight lubricating
settling pans, two sixty-inch boilers, sixteen feet long,
eight pumps for conveying the fluids from tank to
tank and for shipping, each pump having a capacity
of from one hundred and fifty to five hundred barrels
an hour, one air compressor, one air blower for agi-
tating, a canning factory, turning out fifteen hundred
five-gallon cans per day. The filling capacity of the
establishment is one thousand cases, or two thousand
five-gallon cans a day. The oil is supplied from wells
in Los Angeles County, and is conveyed to the works
in tank cars. There are sixty of these cars, each tank
containing from four thousand to six thousand gal-
lons. The products of the works include, in finer qual-
ities, gasoline, naptha, lucine, benzine, Water White
illuminating oil, and Standard illuminating oil, besides
gas oil, paraffine, lubricating oil, locomotive oil, car
oil, cylinder oil, engine oil, and a dark green lubricat-
ing oil. A view of these extensive works is given in
plate No. 28.
STANDARD SOAP WORKS.
The Largest Manufactory for Laundry and Toilet Soaps West
of the Mississippi.
An important industry of Alameda County is that
of the manufacture of soaps from the immense amount
of tallow produced in the slaughter houses at the
stock yards, near Berkeley. The Standard Soap Com-
pany's works, at Posen Station, West Berkeley "(so
named by the actor M. B. Curtis, known as "Sam'l
of Posen," who owned considerable property and built
a passenger depot there), were built several years ago
and comprise an extensive plant covering a block of
ground. They are on the Southern Pacific overland
line and on the shore of San Francisco Bay. It is
the largest establishment of the kind west of Chicago,
and has a capacity of one million pounds of soap per
month. It runs the entire year and employs thirty-
five men in the making of soaps, candles, and refining
of glycerine, with ten girls as packers. Of laundry
soaps one hundred and thirty different kinds are
made, with several kinds of washing powders or com-
pounds, and three hundred different kinds of toilet
soaps are turned out, including shaving soaps and
floating soap for the bath. The latest processes and
machinery are used. One of the features is a com-
plete printing office, furnished with all kinds of type,
and three cylinder presses, which print all the labels
used, even to the fancy wrappers for the finest soaps.
The laundry soaps are made by different processes
from tallow and resin, with other ingredients, the
cooking all being done by steam. The toilet soaps
are principal!)' made from cocoanut oil, which is ex-
pressed from the cocoanuts grown on the islands of
the Pacific and refined in San Francisco. The kernel
iif the cocoanut is sent in a dry state and is called
"copra." This is what the kernel was originally
called after the oil was expressed. This dried kernel
retains the oil and is not so bulky as the nuts them-
selves. It is put through some steam process and the
oil expressed. The laundry soaps at the Standard
Works are cooked in six pans or kettles, two of them
having a capacity of one hundred and thirty thousand
each, and the other four together one hundred thou-
sand,making three hundred and sixty thousand pounds
at one boiling. The tallow is melted out of the bar-
rels on the fourth floor by steam jets and runs down
into the kettles. The caustic lye or potash is also
melted by steam and boiling water and runs by pipes
into the kettles. After the boiling the underlie or
by product of crude glycerine is drawn off and refined
for the giant powder factories at thirty specific grav-
ity, and a still finer quality absolutely pure put up for
druggists' use. After the laundry soap is boiled suf-
ficiently, it is run into large molds to cool and comes
out of these in blocks of nine hundred pounds weight
each, the different kinds being boiled, of course, on
different days in different kettles. These blocks,
twelve by thirty by thirty-six, are cut into cakes by
power, four men handling and stamping eighty
blocks, or seventy-two thousand pounds, per day and
putting the cakes on racks to season, from which
when dry they are wrapped and boxed. Several
qualities are pressed after being cut into cakes, one
especially being subjected to steam pressure. This is
claimed to be equal to Babbitt's.
The toilet soaps are boiled in eight "jacketed"
kettles, holding an aggregate of six thousand pounds,
and the "floating" soap is also boiled in a different
kettle, and by a different process. These soaps are
run into molds similar to the laundry soaps, but they
come out in white blocks like marble, These are cut
28
ILUSTRATFD ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
up into bars, and the bars, three-fourths by two
inches, are put through tlie "chipping" machine,
which shaves them up into thin chips, after which
they are placed on tables to dry. When sufficiently
dry these chips are taken to one of the eight "mix-
ing " machines, where the perfumery and the coloring
matter desired are added. After passing from the mix-
ing machines it is put through one of two mills, with
polished granite rollers, from which it comes out in a
thin sheet about two feet wide. It is then passed
"through one of the two "blotters," or the hx'draulic
ram, from which it comes out in a long bar, the shape
of the bar being determined by the diaphragm .used —
round, square, octagon, etc. — and is then cut up in
cakes and put through one of the four presses that
have changeable dies, making the numerous shapes
and styles of cakes. Thej- are then put upon racks
to dry, and are afterward appropriately wrapped and
placed in pasteboard boxes by the one-quarter, one-
third, and one-half dozen, according to the st}'le, etc.,
and are ready for the market.
The glycerine and candle works are in a building
adjoining the soap works ; the tallow is run from pipes
in the upper story of the latter to the tanks in the
former, where it is boiled in a vacuum and all the oil
run off, leaving the stearine almost free. This is put
in quantities of about five pounds into coarse sacks
about six inches wide by eighteen long and subjected
to hydraulic pressure. These sacks are then still fur-
ther subjected to steam pressure, where jets of steam
are injected into the stearine and the remainder of the
oil is expressed. The stearine is then melted and run
into the molding machines, holding one hundred or
more candles each. The best quality are dried and
bleached in the sun.
There is in connection with the works a complete
box factory with machinery for making boxes from
the rough lumber, but this is not done, as it is cheaper
to purchase the lumber from the sawmills in the in-
terior already surfaced and cut into box length, ready
to be put together. The lumber is easier stored and
seasoned, requiring less room, and is transported with
less trouble. This lumber is stored in a fireproof
building. There is a machine in the box factory for
printing on the wood. Besides the various depart-
ments already mentioned, there are store rooms for
the soaps, oil, tallow, and resin, label rooms, shipping
rooms, etc. The supplies are received and the prod-
ucts shipped away by rail, a switch running alongside
the works.
The output of the Standard Soap Company, aside
from the local consumption, is sent all over the Pacific
Coast and to Pacific Ocean ports in Mexico, Central
and South .\merica Au.stralia, Hawaiian Islands, and
to the Orient.
IRON WORKS AND ROLLING MILL.
A large plant at Emeryville, Oakland Township.
One of the most important manufacturing plants in
Alameda County is that of the Judson Manufacturing
Company, just outside the city limits of Oakland, at
Emeryville, on the line of the Northern Railway — a
leased line of the Southern Pacific Company. It is
situated on the shore of the Bay of San Francisco, and
has a frontage on the railroad of one thousand three
hundred and eighty-four feet. It is one of the largest
factories of the kind in the United States, and employs
in the busiest season four hundred persons; from one
hundred and seventj'-five to two hundred areemplojed
during the entire \'ear. From $15,000 to S 18,000
are paid monthly to the emplojes, the wages running
from 560 to S200 per month. The plant includes a
rolling mill, machine shop, agricultural machine
works, iron and steel bridge works. Nearly all the
ironwork used in dhe construction of the public and
large business blocks in Oakland, Alameda, and Berk-
eley, as well as in many of those in San Francisco, was
turned out at these works. Ten thousand tons of
iron are rolled annually. The rolling plant consists
of mills of different sizes, with full sets of rolls for
turning out all sorts of ironwork. Forty tons of iron
are turned out of the furnaces daily during the busy
season. Tlie annual output is nearly three-quarters
of a million dollars and is increasing steadily.
BRIDGE BUILDING INDU.'?TRY.
On account of the mountainous character of a large
portion of the commonwealth of California, many
bridges are necessarj', and one of the leading incorpora-
tions in this industry is the California Bridge Corn-
pan}', with works at Emeryville, in conjunction with
the Judson Works. The bridge company puts up
from thirty to forty bridges annually, its work not be-
ing confined to California, but many of the bridges
crossing streams in other States and Territories, and
a number of them are models of engineering skill.
Its bridges are of wood, iron and steel. The bridge
o\er the Feather River at Gridley, Cal., built by this
company, has a span of three hundred and thirteen
feet. That over the Mad River, in Humboldt County,
is said to contain the longest timbers in one piece in
the world, the chord sticks being one hundred and
forty-seven feet long and cut out of mammoth trees of
the Sequoia gigantea. The California Bridge Com-
PLATE
E.S.DENISON'S, ALMOND ORCliARD, NILE5
1 4 ji \
ES.DENIS0N3 FRUIT ORCHARD, N I JLE5.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
29
pany has also erected several bridges across the San
Joaquin, Russian, and other rivers in California, as
well as in Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico,
Idaho, etc. These bridges have been erected on both
county and railroads. The company has constantly
in employ from one hundred to two hundred and fift\'
men.
NAIL WORKS.
Another industry of considerable magnitude is that
of the Pacific Iron and Nail Company, occupying a
tract of fourteen acres at the foot of Market, Myrtle,
and adjacent streets, Oakland. This plant was estab-
lished about the same time the Judson works were.
The capacity of the factory is about sixty-five tons of
iron and steel daily. It comprises a rolling mill, ma-
chine shop, and nail factory. The output is about
thirty thousand kegs of nails per month. This is
several thousand kegs above Pacific Coast consump-
tion, but they are disposed of by export to South
America, Hawaii, etc. The machinery is of the latest
pattern and designs. The plant cost over half a mil-
lion dollars; nearly three hundred hands are em-
plo\-ed, and the pay roll is about ;520,000 per month.
the mill and one hundred and thirty-five looms.
There are two hundred and fifty machines in the fac-
tory, and the cost of the plant was ^250,000.
CALIFORNIA COTTON MILLS.
In 1885 the California Cotton Mills Company
erected a plant for the manufacture of cotton. It oc-
cupies a block of 450 feet on the line of the railroad at
Twenty-third Avenue Station, East Oakland. The
machinery is of the most improved kind and cost
about a half million dollars. Various kinds of cotton
goods are manufactured, including seamless bags for
grain, flour, alfalfa, salt, coffee, toweling, bolting for
batting and mops, carpeting, burlaps, cotton wicking,^
warps, twines, and common rope. The goods manu-
factured are equal to any manufactured in this coun-
tr\' or imported.
MANUFACTURE OF JUTE.
The California Jute Mills were built at Clinton
Station, Oakland, on the north arm of the estuary, in
the seventies, but in 1883 they changed hands and
were extensively improved, new machinery added, and
the capacity enlarged. They cover an entire block of
ground and give employment to upward of four hun-
dred men, boys, and girls, with a pay roll of about
i^io.ooo monthly. Nearly one thousand bales of jute
are monthly manufactured into burlaps for grain, po-
tato, flour, and borax sacks, twines, jute matting, horse
blankets, etc. There are three thousand spindles in
CAR SHOPS AT NEWARK.
At Newark, on the line of the South Pacific Coast
Railroad, in Washington Township, are situated the
large car shops of Carter Bros. This firm turns out
annually hundreds of street cars — electric, cable, and
horse — as well as railroad cars for different lines on
the coast. A large force of workmen is constantly
employed and all work turned out is first class.
AGRICULTURAL MACHINE WORKS.
At San Leandro, in Eden Township, are situated
Best's Agricultural Machine Works, where are manu-
factured combined harvesters, threshing machines, and
traction road engines capable of drawing fifty tons.
These machines and engines are sold and used all over
the Pacific Coast, and the plant turns out a large num-
ber every year.
BRASS FOUNDRY.
At the corner of Washington and Fourth Streets,
Oakland, is situated the brassfoundry of A. Chloupek,
where are turned out all kinds of brass castings and
fixtures.
SEWER PIPE AND FIRE BRICK WORKS.
In 1888 N. Clark & Sons removed their sewer pipe
and fire brick works from Sacramento to Alameda
Point, on account of better facilities offered by the
change of location. They purchased a tract of eight
acres of ground, constructed one thousand two hun-
dred feet of side tracking, and erected a handsome
four-story brick building, one hundred and ten by two
hundred and si.xty-five feet. There were used in the
construction of the building oiie million red bricks,
the floors having an area of one hundred thousand
square feet. The power is furnished by a one hundred
and fifty horse power Atlas «ngine, and the boiler
rooms contain two sixty-inch steel boilers. The drj-
and wet pan system is used in mixing and grinding
clays for sewer pipe, fire brick, terra cotta, drain tile,
fireproofing, and other products of the manufactory.
The facilities are such that from the moment that the
clay is unloaded from the cars it is not handled again
by the workmen until it comes from the various ma-
chines, ready to go on the drying floors, and thence,
after they are thoroughly dried, to the kilns. A spe-
cialty of this factory is the "Pacific" fire brick, an
30
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
article that has the highest reputation and is preferred
to the best English brick. The finest machinery and
the most substantially constructed kilns are in opera-
tion in this factory, and only first-class work in every
department is allowed to be placed on the market. As
a consequence, this pottery has secured a reputation
second to no other establishment of the kind on the
Pacific Coast, and enabling them to compete with the
highest grade of manufactures turned out by Eastern
and foreign . establishments of a similar character.
Only the best quality of material is used in the manu-
facture of products of this pottery. Their facilities for
making shipments by rail and water are such that
their products are distributed all over the Pacific Coast.
The pottery turns out annually seven hundred and
fifty thousand fire bricks and one million feet of sewer
pipe, conduit pipe, and drain tile.
POTTERY AND TERRA COTTA.
On the line of the local railroad, at Twenty-third
Avenue Station, East Oakland, is located the large
plant of the California Pottery and Terra Cotta Works.
About one thousand tons of clay are used annuallj' in
the construction of sewer and chinmey pipe. The
capacity of the plant is one tlmusand joints of pipe
per day, and, when running at full capacity, fi\'e thou-
sand are constantly drying in the kilns. All kinds of
terra cotta work are turned out, as well as glazed pipe
uork. The pottery makes a specialty of filters and
cane and umbrella stands.
ART POTTERY.
Adjoining the California Potter}-, but an entirely
different concern, is the Oakland Art Pottery. It makes
a specialty of art potteiy, including vases, plaques,
tiles, etc., and has a kiln for firing hand-painted china,
etc. Sewer pipe in large quantities is turned out at
this pottery. The output annually is about 5125,000.
COMMON AND PRESSED BRICK.
Owing to the nature of the soil necessarj' for the
manufacture of brick, this industry is not very exten-
sively followed in Alameda County, but the Remillard
Brick Company has a large brick yard at Pleasanton,
at which thousands of brick are tarned out annually.
The company have other yards, and the aggregate
output per annum is between two million and three
million common brick, as well as between five hundred
thousand and one million pressed brick. The head-
quarters and office of the company are in Oakland.
The average price of common brick is $9.00 per thou-
sand and that of the pressed, between S30 and 340
per thousand. The value of the annual output of the
company is from $250,000 to $300,000. It employs
three hundred men and eighty teams during the entire
year, the climate being such that the making of brick
can go on as well in winter as in summer. This com-
pany has been in business since 1861. It takes con-
tracts for the erection of brick buildings.
WOODWORK AND PLANING MILLS.
There are a number of planing mills in the county
that handle annually an immense quantity of lumber
for the growing cities and suburbs and towns and vil-
lages. It is estimated that between seventy million
and one hundred million feet of lumber are used annu-
ally in the county. Several of the largest lumber yards
carr\' from three million to four million feet of lumber
continLialh" on hand and sell annually fiom fixe million
to scN'en million feet.
One of the extensix-e woodworking industries of
Alameda County is the plant of the California Door
Company, situated at Wood and Sixteenth Streets, West
Oakland, and near the line of the railroad, with side
tracks to carry in the lumber and take away the out-
put. The plant cost 5350,000, and turns out one thou-
sand doors per day, besides many hundreds of dozen
sash. From two hundred and fifty to four hundred
men are employed by the company, the latter number
during the busiest season. This factory was opened
up in 1888.
The Burnham-Standeford Company runs a large
plant on Washington Street, occupying the block be-
tween First and Second Streets, known as the Oakland
Planmg Mills. AH sorts of woodwork are turned out,
from street cars to doors, sashes, inside and outside
blinds, as well as millwork for buildings. It was es-
tablished in 1868 by O. H. Burnham and W. D.
Standeford, but has recenth' become the property of
an incorporation.
From one million five hundred thousand to two
million feet of lumber are used annually by the Eagle
Bo.x and Manufacturing Company's factory, on Mar-
ket Street, Oakland. About five hundred thousand
to one million feet of spruce lumber are kept on hand
all the time, and seventy-five men are constantly em-
ploj-ed in the manufacture of boxes for the small fruit
farmers of the county and other industries requiring
boxes. A large number are manufactured for dried
fruits as well as egg boxes. The output annually is
from $75,000 to $100,000.
The Pioneer Planing Mill, of Hierlih)-, Bell & Co.,
employs forty men and turns out a great deal of mill-
PLATE 13.
sj- PRESBYTERIAN CMUReH , I4and FRANKLIN 5T5, OAKLAND.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
work for exterior and interior of dwellings, stores, etc.
It is situated on First Street at the foot of Broadway.
The Independent Planing Mill, of Johnson Bros. &
Co., at Brush and Second Streets, Oakland, turns out
fifty thousand to seventy-five thousand feet of dressed
redwood, sugar pine, Oregon pine, cedar, fir and hard
woods. The building of water tanks for windmills is
a specialty of this mill.
The Pacific Coast Planing Mill, of Alpheus Kendall,
in Oakland, turns out all kinds of mill work in sugar
pine, cedar, ash, spruce, black walnut, and maple.
The East Oakland Planing Mills, at East Twelfth
Street and Fourteenth Avenue, do the same kind of
millwork as those mentioned above, and send their
output all over the Pacific Coast as well as to Mexico
and the islands. They handle the same kind of lumber
the other mills do, and keep a large stock on hand.
Besides the Oakland mills mentioned, which use
hundreds of thousands of feet of all kinds of lumber,
there are two planing mills in Berkeley and one in
Alameda. The West Berkeley Planing Mills, Niehaus
Bros., have been in operation seventeen years. The
output is about ^75,000 per annum, and upwards of
one million feet of lumber are converted into doors,
sashes, window frames, brackets, niouldings, mantels,
stair work, book cases, church work, tanks, orna-
mental fences, scroll sawing, turning, etc.
George C. Pape's East Berkeley Planing Mills han-
dle about two hundred and fifty thousand feet of lum-
ber per annum, the most of it for local contractors.
All kinds of trimmings and millwork are turned out.
In Alameda the Enterprise Planing Mill converts a
large amount of lumber monthly into millwork, such
as mouldings, brackets, ornamental facing, door and
window frames, scroll and band saw work, and fancy
fencing for the local contractors and builders in this
little city of pleasant homes and attractive buildings.
FLOURING MILLS.
Among the many industries and mills in Alameda
are those for the grinding of her cereal products. Of
these the Golden Rule Flouring Mills, at Broadway
and Third Street, were erected in 1864, and have a
capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels a day. The
mill operates eight double sets of Steven's rollers, a
smutter, a bran duster, separator, bolts, purifiers, etc.
— all of the most improved make. The principal
market is in Oakland and San Francisco, but ship-
ments are made to Vallejo, San Rafael, and to Contra
Costa County.
The Encinal Home Flouring Mills, at Washington
and Fourth Streets, Oakland, include French burr-
stones, Wagner rollers, and every description of ma-
chiner}' necessary for cleaning and separating. The
annual output is about ;^75,ooo, and the mill makes a
specialty of meals of their own manufacture.
The Bay City Roller Flouring Mills, at First and
Clay Streets, Oakland, have a capacity of over two
hundred and twenty-five barrels per day. The prod-
uct of the mills includes the finest grades of flour,
oatmeal, graham flour, coarse and fine hominy, corn
meal, middlings, bran, pearl barley, and farina.
The Berkeley Milling Company's mills are located at
West Berkeley. Their sales amount to upward of
$3,000 monthly, the largest part resulting from the
manufacture of breakfast food. The machinery in-
cludes steel cutters, breaking machines, separators,
bolts, cleaners, and purifiers. The product of these
mills is made from the choicest grain grown in this
State, carefully prepared and steam cooked by a new
process which renders it more wholesome and nutri-
tious. The machinery cost $10,000, and the output
amounts to $45,000 a year.
TANNERIES.
One of the oldest industries of East Oakland is the
manufacture of leather. The Broolclyn Tannery has
been in operation since 1870, and was started by the
late George F. Crist. It is now conducted by R. F.
& A. J. Crist, sons of the foimer, who were members
of the firm prior to their father's death. The output
per annum varies from $90,000 to $120,000 per )^ear,
and represents ten thousand to twelve thousand hides.
From $12,000 to $16,000 worth of bark is used
yearl}'.
The Oak Grove Tannery, located also in East Oak-
land,'G. S, Derby proprietor, was established in i860.
It works about sixty thousand hides per annum, which
represent an output of about $70,000. Over four
thousand sides of leather are constantly in course of
tanning. Sixty-eight vats consume six hundred cords
of bark every year, and the principal manufacture con-
sists of harness, skirting, and sole leather. The pelts
average sixty pounds each. The roller has a pressure
of seven thousand pounds. This tannery has a laro-e
Eastern trade.
MANUFACTURE OF PAINTS AND OILS.
In 1884 the Paraffine Paint Company located its
works near Shell Mound Park, at Emeryville. The
company manufactures a paint adapted to the preser-
vation of wood and ironwork, tin, roofs, bridges, etc.
The factory turns out fifteen thousand gallons a
month, worth, according to quality, from ninety cents
to $[.75 per gallon. Branch houses for the sale of
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
this paint have been estabhshed in New York, St.
Louis, and Chicago. 'The sales of paint alone amount
to ;$ 1 80,000 annually, besides which the company
has a heavy demand for a patent waterproof roof-
ing of burlap, backed with paper and coated with
paraffine paint, these sales amounting to ^90,000 a
year.
The works of the Petroline Paint Company are sit-
uated on First Street, Oal<land, on the line of the old
overland railroad. The company receives a sort of
crude petroleum oil from wells in Ventura County.
The lighter quality is sold to the gas company. The
heavier parts of tar are used for sidewalks, and the
asphaltum for paints. The company manufactures
large quantities of waterproof petroline roofing. The
paints manufactured are water and fire proof, and are
used for painting ironworks, smokestacks, gas works,
roofs and tin, preventing oxidization.
E. G. Buswell & Co. have a plant at the corner of
Broadway and Fourth Street, Oakland, for the manu-
facture of the varfbus kinds of mineral paints, \\*itli a
capacity of ten tons per month.
CHAPTER V.
RAILROADS IN ALAMEDA COUNTY.
The Terminus of the Transcontinental Lines^Local Passenger
Trafific— Street Car Lines Run by Cables and Electricity-
Electric Cars Run on the CoiSily Roads— Rapid and Fre-
quent Transit from Surburban Towns to the Cides of
Oakland and San Francisco — Car Shops, etc.
As all roads during the time of the Roman Em-
pire's greatest success led to Rome, so for many years
all visitors to the metropolis of the Pacific Coast
by transcontinental travel passed through Alameda
County and across the Bay of San Francisco.
The commencement of the present railroad system
of the Pacific Coast was the incorporation in 1862 of
the Alameda Valley Railroad Company, to build a
railroad from Oakland to Niles. This road was built
by the Central Pacific Railroad Company some years
later and became a part of the transcontinental line
over the Rockies. The first railroad, being four miles
long, and running from Broadway, Oakland, to the
ferry wharf, was operated in 1863. In 1865 this line
was extended to Brooklyn, now East Oakland Station,
and this was connected with the San Francisco and Ala-
meda Valley Railroad and extended to Hayward and
completed. This line was extended during the latter
part of this year and the one succeeding to connect
with the Western Pacific, a section of the transconti-
nental line then under construction in Alameda Cafion,
and through the Livermore Pass, in the Contra
Costa Range. The Central Pacific Railroad in 1867
bought up the various railway lines and consolidated
them, agreeing upon making the terminii of a 1 the
lines intending to reach San Francisco at Oakland,
and crossing the bay from this point. The Central
Pacific Conn)any, then building its line to connect
with the Union Pacific at Ogden, had also determined
at this time to reach San Francisco via the Livermore
Pass, Alameda C'ahon, Oakland, and a ferry system
across the bay, and on the eighth da}' of November,
1 869, the first overland train reached Oakland.
Then it became apparent that the metropolis had
been founded on the wrong side of the ba)' — that it
ought to have been on the mainland where Oakland
now is, with a scope and capacity of containing a city
of two million inhabitants, instead of on the peninsula
of San Francisco. A line of ferry .steamers was put
on b)- the Central Pacific Railroad Company, and a
pier built out on piles two miles into the bay, where
these steamers landed. Owing to a feeling of dis-
trust expressed by many in reference to tlie trestle,
the company some years ago filled in all around it
with earth and stone, makmg a solid mole extending
from the pier to the mainland. The travel and freight
traffic became so heavy that the railroad determined
to build a line around the bay shore, which it did, to
avoid the heav\- grades through the Livermore Pass.
It also built an immense ferry steamer to cross the
Straits of Carquinez for the overland travel via Og-
den and Omaha. This steamer carries an entire
train of sleepers, passenger coaches, dining cars, etc.,
with the accompanying engine, at one load, the train
divided in half The road via the Livermore Pass is
now used for local traffic. The trains for the south-
ern routes follow around the bay shore into Contra
Costa County and the San Joaquin Valley.
A few years after the completion of the main line
the company built a line from Niles down througli
the southern end of the county, running through the
Santa Clara Valley, through San Jos^, to Santa Cruz
and Monterey. By a branch line running down
from San Francisco to San Jos^, a circuit of the
lower end of the Bay of San Francisco — one hun-
dred miles — is made, and freight not desired to be
risked on tlie bay is sent round to San Francisco.
"Big Betsy," the immense gun sent out from the East
for the warship Monterey, was sent around in this way
from Oakland. The company have two large steam-
ers, upon which they load a train of freight cars and
take them across the bay to San Francisco, and vice
versa, of freight going east from Japan, China, or
other oriental countries, or the Hawaiian and other
islands of the Pacific, and Australia. So much for
-i- , '"^
,-->--4-^---- t t- ^•^^
nuillilffi
RESIDENeE OF CHARLES NELSO
PLATE I4-.
SEMINARY AVE., EAST OAKLAND
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
33
the overland roads, which were all leased some years
ago and are still controlled by the Southern Pacific
Company of Kentucky.
About thirteen years ago an opposition company,
known as the South Pacific Coast Railroad Company,
built and equipped a narrow-gauge line starting from
a pier built out into the bay from Alameda Point,
along the south training wall of the Oakland estuary,
and paralleling the broad-gauge line down through
Alameda County and the Santa Clara Valley to San
Jose, Santa Cruz, and Monterey. This line runs be-
tween the broad gauge and the bay. In 1887 it was
purchased by the Southern Pacific Company for $e,,-
500,000, and it is now operated by it.
The California and Nevada Narrow Gauge Railroad
Company built a line a few years ago from Emeryville,
via Berkeley and San Pablo, to Walnut Grove, in Contra
Costa County, which runs during the summer months.
The line is being extended, and it is understood that it
will be put through into the San Joaquin Valley in the
near future.
The California Railway Company runs a narrow-
gauge train from the city line of Oakland at Fruitvale
to the foothills at Laundry Farm, being a direct line
to Mills College. This company furnishes rock for
street macadamizing purposes from its quarries at
Laundry Farm.
In 1891 the Southern Pacific Company built a short
line from Martinez through to its old overland line
near Livermore, opening up a rich farming district to
railroad facilities, so that there is scarcely a farm in the
county that is not within a few miles of a railroad sta-
tion and has an outlet to get its products to the local
markets.
The following is a chief summing up of the present
transcontinental roads, of which the little line of four
miles operated in 1863 was the beginning : Theoldest of
the lines now forming a part of the coast and transconti-
nental systems is the Central Pacific, leased and oper-
ated by the Southern Pacific. This line starts from
Oakland pier and connects, with the Union Pacific at
Ogden. One train leaves Oakland daily, via Sacra-
mento, crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains, via
Truckee, to Reno, Nevada, where it connects with the
line to Carson and Virginia City, and that line with
the Carson and Colorado line, through .Southern Ne-
vada, Mono, and Inyo Counties, in this State, to the
Colorado River. At Reno the Central Pacific also
connects with a railway being built northward to Las-
sen County, and to extend the whole fength of Sur-
prise Valley, Modoc County, and into Oregon. At
Battle Mountain the Central connects with the Nevada
Central Railroad, running from Battle Mountain to
Austin, Nevada. At Palisades the Central connects
with the Eureka and Palisades Railroad, and the rich
mines of the Eureka mining section of Nevada. At
Ogden the Central connects not only with the Union
Pacific, but also with the Denver and Rio Grande, the
Utah Central, Utah and Northern, and the Oregon
Short line — branching to all points of the compass,
north, south, east, and west.
Then come the Southern Pacific lines, running also
from' the pier to the Eastern States through Central
and Southern California. Practically, two overland
trains leave Oakland over this route each day, as south-
ern connections amount to that. These trains leave
Oakland pier, via Port Costa, following the San Joa-
quin River, z'ia Lathrop, through San Joaquin Valley
to Mohave and the Needles, connecting with the com-
plicated systems of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad,
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe system, the St.
Louis and San Francisco system ; or via Los Ange-
les and Yuma, connecting with the Maricopa and
Phoenix Railway; with the Sonora Railway, at Nogales,
to Guaymas; and at El Paso with the Mexican Cen-
tral Railway, through the Mexican States, to the City
of Mexico ; or to the Te.xas border, connecting with
the whole Texas and Southern system; or to Galves-
ton and New Orleans, and the great systems of rail-
ways traversing with their connections the whole con-
tinent.
The third great line leaving the terminus at Oakland
pier is the Oregon line, or Shasta Route, as it is gener-
ally termed, with its connections, spanning the great
Northwest. Daily trains leave the pisrvia Sacramento,
Marysville, and Red Bluff.passingatthevery foot of ma-
jestic Mount Shasta, connecting at Montague, in Shasta
Valley, with the line of railway to Yreka; or to the
Oregon line, climbing the Siskiyou Mountains, through
Rogue River Valley, connecting with the Oregon sys-
tem of railways; on to Portland, connecting with two
lines of the Northern Pacific; to Washington, with
its system of railways, and with the Canadian Pacific;
through Idaho, Montana, Dakota, with their systems
of railways, to the Great Lakes and the East.
The State system of roads connecting San Francisco
and Oakland with the remainder of the great common-
wealth runs through Alameda County.
Three trains leave Oakland pier daily for Port Costa.
Benicia, Suisun, 'and Sacramento, and intermediate
towns, connecting at Sacramento with trains for Marys-
ville, Chico, and Red Bluff, and intermediate towns.
Two trains leave daily for Sacramento zna Livermore,
Lathrop, Stockton, and intermediate towns, connect-
ing at Gait with trains for lone, Amador County, and
at Stockton with trains to Copperopolis, Calaveras
34
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
County, and intermediate towns; also line to Stanislaus
and other counties and the Yoseniite. Two trains
leave daily via Port Costa and Davisville for Wood-
land, Red Bluff, and Redding, connecting at Williams
with trains for Colusa arid intermediate towns; also at
Woodland with trains for Knight's Landing. Two
trains leave daih- via Vallejo Junction for Napa and
Calistoga and intermediate towns, connecting with
trains at Napa Junction for Creston, Cordelia, and
Suisun. Three trains leave daily via Vallejo Junction
for Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, and intermediate
towns. Two trains leave daily via Lathrop, through
the San Joaquin Valley, to Los Angeles, connecting
with the Southern California network of railways.
Two trains leave daily by. the narrow-gauge line for
Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and intermediate towns, con-
necting at Felton with the Boulder Creek and Pesca-
dero line. Big Trees, etc., and at San Jose with the New
Almaden line. Two trains leave daily by the broad-
gauge line via Niles, San Jose, and Santa Cruz, Pajaro,
Watsonville, Martinez, and intermediate towns, to Paso
Robles, San Luis Obispo County, and intermediate
towns.
Sacramento trains connect at Elmira with trains to
Vacaville, Madison, Rumsey, and intermediate towns.
Also at Sacramento with trains to Folsom and Placer-
ville, and intermediate towns.
The foregoing has been devoted principally to the
overland and State systems of steam railways having
terminii in Alameda Count}'. The suburban system
of the county comprises the lines of railways connect-
ing Oakland with the principal towns of the count)-.
Seven trains leave Oakland daily for Melrose, Semi-
nary Park, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hay ward, De-
coto, and Niles. Five»trains leave Oakland daily for
Niles, L-vington, Warm Springs, Milpitas, and San
Jose. Three trains leave daily for Niles, Suiiol, Pleas-
anton, and Livermore; all broad-gauge lines. On the
narrow-gauge lines five trains leave Oakland daily for
Alameda, West San Leandro, West San Lorenzo,
Russells, Mount Eden, Alvarado, Halls, Newark,
Mowry's, Alviso, Santa Clara, and San Jose.
STREET CAR LINES.
Until the latter part of the year 1887, aside from the
local trains which made connection with half-hour
boats from San Francisco to Oakland, Alameda, and
Berkeley, there were only six horse-car lines in the
county. These were between Central and West Oak-
land, between East and Central Oakland, between Oak-
land and Alameda, between Oakland and Berkeley, and
to the Mountain View Cemetery. These were as slow
as the slowest. In 1887 the Oakland Railway Com"
pany completed a cable line to the northern suburbs
of Oakland. In 1890 a cable line was completed to
Piedmont Springs, a distance of about four miles.
These two cable roads are now in operation, and carry
a large number of people to the suburbs.
In 1 891 a number of gentlemen residing in one of
the interior townships — in the vicinity of San Leandro
— concluded to try an electric road from the center of
Oakland to Hayward on the south — sixteen miles.
The road was completed in May, 1892, and has been
a decided success. It makes half-hourly trips, con-
necting with the local trains in Oakland. The pio-
neer electric railroad, however, was that of the Oak-
land Consolidated Street Railway Company, which
now has six different electric lines in operation. The
first of this company's lines was between Oakland and
Berkeley, and was the first electric street-car line in
Alameda County. It now has two lines to Berkeley,
which form a loop, the cars going out one line re-
turning by the other. It also has branch lines to the
Sixteenth Street overland depot at West Oakland, and
to Mountain View Cemetery. The company also has
franchises for several other branch lines now in pro-
cess of extension. It has arranged for a system of
transfers with the Oakland, San Leandro, and Hayward
electric line, first mentioned, by which a distance of
about nine miles can be traveled for one five-cent fare.
The Oakland .Street Railroad Company, operating a
horse car and steam dummy line between Oakland
and Berkeley, in 1892 converted it into an electric
line, and now has th-e smoothest running and most
substantial line in the L^nited States. It has a branch
line about halfway between Oakland and Berkeley, run-
ning across to the East Berkeley steam line at Lorin.
The East Oakland Street Railway Company com-
pleted in 1892 an electric line from the junction of
Broadway and Eighth Street through East Oakland to
the suburbs. Other branches of this company's lines
now operated by horses will be transformed during
1893 into electric lines.
The California Railway Company, owners of the
Laundry Farm Railway, purchased the franchise and
property of the Alameda, Oakland, and Piedmont
Railroad Company, and have transformed them into
electric lines, from horses. The main line runs from
Seventh Street and Broadway, Oakland, across the
estuary, through nearly the entire length of the city
of Alameda, with a branch line on Park Street and
Park Avenue,' across to Twenty-third Avenue and East
Twelfth Street, Oakland. 1
The Highland Park and Fruitvale street-car line has
been transformed into an electric line, with double-
D
O
r
D
O
O
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
35
decked cars, patented by Mr. E. C. Sessions, the orig-
inal promoter of the line and principal owner of the
East Oakland electric line. The intention of this
company is to extend its lines across to Piedmont from
East Oakland. It will also have a terminus at Elev-
enth and Washington Streets and cross the north
arm of the estuary on a bridge at Eleventh Street,
making connection with its line at East Eleventh
Street and Thirteenth Avenue.
Electric street franchises have been granted from
Broadway to West Oakland on Eighth, Tenth, and
Twelfth Streets, and these roads will all be running be-
fore the end of 1893, making five electric lines from
Broadway, or Central Oakland, to the western end
of the city.
Franchises are before the Board of Supervisors of
the county for electric lines skirting the foothills back
of Oakland, and for a line to San Jose through the
Santa Clara Valley. In a short time there will be no
county in the Union with more facilities for rapid
travel from the interior to the county seat, and from
one section to another.
Horse car lines will soon be things of the past, and
even the cables seem now to be doomed. In fact,
several franchises originally asked for cable, were
changed to electricity before work was commenced on
their construction.
The City of Oakland has a local line of the Central
Pacific (leased by the Southern Pacific Compan)') run-
ning from its western end, at the Bay of San Francisco,
to Fruitvale on the east, a distance of about six miles
— with eight intermediate stations, less than a mile
apart, with half hour trains, stopping at every station,
connecting with the ferries to San Francisco. Upon
this line the people travel back and forth, between
stations, and from West Oakland to Fruitvale, without
paying any fares. Such a thing is unknown anywhere
else on the continent or in the world. It was a con-
dition of the franchise of the railroad when granted, in
1868, that no fares would be collected within the lim-
its of the city of Oakland. The same custom prevails
in the city of Alameda across the estuary from Oak-
land. Half hour trains also run from Park Street in
this city via First Street, Oakland, to the Oakland
pier, also connecting with the ferry. No fares are
collected between the five stations within the city lim-
its of Alameda. The company charges ten cents,
however, for local travel between the two cities. There
is also a local line from the Oakland Pier along the
bay at West Oakland to Berkeley, making half-hourly
trips also, connecting with the San Francisco ferry at
the same time with the Oakland and Alameda trains.
A branch line runs from this line at Shell Mound, just
outside the city limits of Oakland, to West Berkeley.
No fares are charged on these two Berkeley lines
inside the town limits, there being four local stations
on each line.
There is a ferry system connecting with the South
Pacific Coast (narrow gauge) Railway mentioned above,
with a pier jutting out into the bay from Alameda
Point near the mouth and on the south of the estuary,
running half-hourly trips to San Francisco, alternating
with the broad-gauge line, so that the trips between
the two ferry lines are every fifteen minutes. Separate
local trains connect with the narrow-gauge boats and
run to Oakland and Alameda, and no fares are col-
lected on these trains within the limits of either city.
The trains run in different parts of the cities. The
tickets of the two lines are interchangeable, and pas-
sengers may go from either line to San Francisco and
return by the other.
There is also a line of ferry steamers, which make
hourly trips, from the foot of Broadway to San Fran-
cisco, carrying freight and passengers, charging the
same fare. This line of steamers will shortly increase
their trips to every thirty minutes, and reduce the
time between Oakland and San Francisco to twenty-
five minutes.
In 1854 one little steamer connected Oakland and
Alameda County with San Francisco, carrying its few
passengers, at ;gi.oo a trip. To-day eight steamers,
floating palaces, the finest ferry steamers in the world,
are employed in carrying passengers and freight to and
from San Francisco, carrying about twenty-four thou-
sand daily, or more than eight million passengers, and
millions of pounds of freight each year. For a round
trip, including car fare to the landings and fare on the
steamers, the price for commutation tickets is ^3.00
per month, or ten cents the round trip; and single trip
tickets to San Francisco and return, twenty-five cents.
No line of transportation in the world carries passen-
gers for so cheap a rate.
THE RAILROAD YARDS.
Bridges and Buildings, Motive Power and Repairing Depart-
ments.
The headquarters of the constructive operations of
the Southern Pacific Company's system are at the West
Oalvland yards.
The bridge and building department does all the
building for the railroad and for the Pacific Improve-
ment Company, a branch of the Southern Pacific, with
the single exception of the laying of the rails. It
primarily is designed to build all the bridges which
the track and engineer departments require. The lat-
5
36
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
ter department supplies the superintendent with a pro-
file of the^space to be bridged and the data necessarily
connected therewith. From this the designs are
drawn and the parts of the bridge made and fitted in
these yards. The bridge is built in place by a gang
from this department, and when finished and turned
over to the track department is ready to receive the
rails.
The territory extends all over the Pacific Coast
to the most distant points reached b\' the Southern
Pacific Company's lines, whether owned or lea.sed.
To the south it reaches El Paso, to the east Ogden, ■
and toward the north it runs into Oregon. Over this
territory it supplies, with the exception of ties, every
bit of lumber that is used by the several departments
of the road, even pro\iding the car department at
Sacramento with all its material. When a new road
is building, this department is at the end of track or
even beyond erecting section houses, tool houses, and
bunks for the use of the track department. Other
gangs are at work along the scarcel)' finished sections
of the road erecting stations, section houses, and all
the necessary structures incidental to the needs of the
railway. The department is even farther reaching in
its scope, for it does the work of construction for the
Pacific Improvement Company. The new Del Monte
Hotel, at Monterey, Hotel El Carmelo.at Pacific Grove,
Castle Crag, near Mount Shasta, are all the work of
this department, and a singular proof of the capacity
of the West Oakland yards is the fact that the task of
supplying the material for this enormous structure
did not in the least interfere with the usual work of
the shop.
All stations, roundhouses, and other buildings are
constructed from data supplied to this department.
The designs are drawn and the specifications made for
every piece of constructive work undertaken. All the
work is done at these shops as far as possible, and the
intention is always to complete the work in all its
parts so that at the place of erection nothing is left
the workgien but to fit the pieces together according
to the orders given. The department has charge of
the shipyard, also, at West Oakland, and has built or
repaired all the steamers of the railroad company's
large fleet During the past year this one department
has handled over fifteen million feet of lumber and has
given employment to some twenty-five hundred men,
of which number at least four hundred and fifty are
carried upon the pay roll of the Oakland shops.
Another department of these yards is that of motive
power and machinery. The steamers of the ferry
service upon the bay and the Sacramento River are
built and repaired, and the locomotive engines receive
all repairs short of rebuilding. The buildings of the de-
partment of motive power and machinery stand close
together at the shore of the bay, and in addition to a
few tool houses are the machine shop, the blacksmithy,
and the roundhouse. The division for which these
are the repair shops extends from Oakland to San Jose
by Niles, to Sacramento by Livermore on the Western
Pacific, to Sacramento by Benicia on the Northern
and California Pacific, and to Lathrop. All ordinary
and running repairs to engines employed upon the
lines between Oakland and these points are done at
these yards; rebuilding is done at Sacramento. The
main line and local systems of the division keep ninety
locomotives in use, all of which pass through these
shops. The Oakland local train service requires seven
large local engines built expresslj' for this use. They
are built with the tender and engine in one block, and
the greater part of the w'eight is supported upon the
six driving wheels; at each end is a single truck of
two ordinary small wheels. The local service to
Alameda employs four small local engines, which
run about two years before repairs are necessary.
Seven small local engines are employed upon the
Berlceley service.
The division switch engines at Port Costa, the
West Oakland yard, and the San Francisco yard,
number twenty-six. Four of these are the largest
switch engines made, being eighteen by twenty-four
ten-wheel locomotives, equal in size to the largest
freight engines. The remainder of this class have
si.xteen and seventeen-inch cylinders. Because of the
heavy service to which they are subjected they come
in for repairs after about eighteen months' work. The
average life of the passenger and freight engine on
these lines is about two and a half years. The re-
maining twenty-eight engines of the division are
freight and extra passenger engines.
The blacksmithy has four forges and a steam ham-
mer of ten tons. The machine shop is amply fitted
with necessary tools, a lathe for turning tires, which
is now at work upon steel tires for the South Pacific
Coast Railroad, because the shops of that road at
Newark have not the necessary tools for such work,
an hydraulic press for putting wheels on, a large
planer, a large slatting machine, three drill punches,
and six lathes. Here also is the air compressor
which supplies the block signal system, extending
from the pier to Sixteenth Street on the overland
lines, and to Alice Street on the Fifteenth Street lines.
The roundhouse has room for twenty-one locomo-
tives. The daily supply of coal used by the locomo-
tives is, on the average, one hundred tons.
The department employs one hundred and ten men.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
iJ
and the pay roll is growing larger every month.
These are classed as follows: Mechanics, thirty-four,
comprising smiths, carpenters, boiler makers, ma-
chinists, and painters; helpers, twenty-six; laborers,
twenty-two; wipers, fifteen, being boys who are in the
line pf eventually becoming engineers; watchmen and
dispatchers, eleven ; a foreman of the roundhouse and
a foreman of the machine shop. The engineers num-
ber ninety-five, and the firemen ninety-eight. The
monthly pay roll amounts to ^21,000, of which the
engineers receive ^10,000, the repairing branch $6,000,
and the firemen ;^5,000.
The passenger engines outside of Oakland and the
yards make a monthly run of one hundred eighteen
thousand four hundred seventy-eight miles; the freight
engines, sixty-four thousand seven hundred eighty-
six ; way switching, five thousand six hundred eighty-
two; terminal switching, fifty thousand seven hundred
forty-one; and miscellaneous, three thousand three
hundred ninety-six, making a total distance traversed
in this division each month of two hundred thirty-
three thousand eighty-three miles.
The shipyard, which belongs to the bridge building
department, is close alongside the repair shops, upon
the shore of the creek. It was first established in its
present place in 1874, and the steamers Oakland and
Transit were the first boats built here. In quick suc-
cession the Capitol, Jttlia, Amelia, and El Capitan
were repaired upon these ways, and in 1878 the So-
lano was built. This, the mammoth steamer of the
company's fleet, is the largest ferryboat in the world.
She has two beam engines, each si.xty inches in
diameter, with eleven feet stroke. Her eight steel
boilers were built in Sacramento. The Apache and
Modoc were then built for use on the Sacramento
River, followed in 1883 by the Piedmont, as hand-
some a boat as was ever used on any ferry service.
In the car department all cars or coaches arriving
from the East are thoroughly inspected, repaired, and
cleaned. The yard set apart for this purpose is prob-
ably the most extensive and best fitted for the purpose
in the United States. Its order and cleanliness at-
tract the attention of every Eastern railroad man
who visits it. There are ten parallel tracks, one thou-
sand feet long, with all necessary switches and cut-offs,
running into a long brick shop, with transfer table and
a separate track for the wrecking train, which stands
alone, fully equipped with all tools, provisions, and
every requisite for picking up a wreck. The main
avenue down the yard is thirty feet between tracks,
and here are kept in handy rack sand bins all tools and
material required for the work. From two hundred
to four hundred passenger coaches are cleaned
monthly at these yards.
CHAPTER VL
ECCLESIASTICAL AND FRATERNAL.
Denominational Statistics — All the Various Evangelical and
the Roman Catholic Societies Have Churches in Different
Parts of the County — Other Religious Institutions — The
Fraternities — They are all Represented — Clubs — Charitable
Institutions, etc.
Congrec;ationalism. — There are at the present time
fifteen Congregational Churches and seven missions in
Alameda County. The oldest organization is that of
the First Church of Oakland, Rev. J. K. McLean, pas-
tor. It was organized December 9, i860, with seven-
teen members. The aggregate membership in the
county now is nearly twenty-six hundred. The de-
nomination has fifteen church edifices, of the aggregate
value of ^218,250. The annual coiftributions aggre-
gate nearly ;$45,ooo for congregational expenses, and
about ;^I 5,000 for home and foreign missions, or a
total of ^60,000. There are twenty-five Sunday
schools, with a membership of three thousand one
hundred.
Within the limits of the county this denomination
has a theological seminary (the Pacific) and a prepar-
atory school (the Hopkins Academy). The two own
real estate valued at $100,000, and have endowments
of $200,000.
The First Congregational Church of Oakland has a
membership of one thousand members, and raises an-
nually a large sum for the missions. It has the finest
church edifice and chapel in the county, which is
shown in plate No. 18.
Presbyterianism. — There are in the county nine-
teen Presbyterian congregations, with a total member-
ship of nearly three thousand. The number of Sun-
day school scholars in these churches, with their mis-
sion schools, is three thousand eight hundred. The
total amount of money contributed by the members of
these churches during the past year for all purposes
was about $65,000.' The largest of these congrega-
tions is that of the First Presbyterian Church ofOak-
land, Rev. Robert F. Coyle, D. D. (not long ago of
the Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian Church af Chicago),
pastor. It now has a membership of upward of one
thousand, having gained about three hundred the past
year. It is shown in plate 13 in this book. Its mem-
bers contributed about $26,000 in 1 892, of which nearly
$4,000 was for missionary work at home and abroad.
These congregations are now in the newly created
Presbytery of Oakland, which includes Alameda and
Contra Costa Counties. There is a social organization
known as the Presbyterian Social Union of Alameda
County, which holds quarterly social meetings.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
There are also two small United Presbyterian mission
congregations in the county — one in Oakland and the
other in Alameda — and a Reformed Presbyterian Chi-
nese mission, neither of them yet having a church
structure. Both of the United Presbyterian congre-
gations expect to build this year, having secured
building sites.
Methodist Episcopal. — One of the earliest denom-
inations to organize a society in Alameda County was
that of the Methodist Episcopal, and it is now one of
the strongest. It has an aggregate membership of
nearly three thousand in the county. The first society
now numbers about one thousand members and has a
large church edifice. It has upward of twenty build-
ings in the county, of an aggregate value of about
^150,000. Its 'total annual contributions amount to
;^SOjOOO and upward. It is one of the foremost in
Sunday school work.
The church structure is very complete in its ap-
pointments in the way of Sunday school rooms, class
rooms, parlors, libraries, etc. The sum of $10,000
was expended in improvements last j-ear.
TrfE Seventh-d.\y Adven'tists. — This people intro-
duced their faith into Oakland about the year 1874,
first by means of tent meetings and the circulation of
literature pertaining to their peculiar doctrines. In
1876 they organized a church, and erected a house of
worship at the corner of 1 3th and Clay Streets. Soon
after the introduction of their faith, they also estab-
lished a publishing house, now known as the Pacific
Press Publishing Company. This establishment has
had a marvelous growth, and is now capitalized at
$200,000. The church organization also outgrew its
first building, and in 1887 built a larger house, the
auditorium having a seating capacity of about 1,200.
This house stands at the corner of I2th and Brush
Streets, on the same block as the publishing house.
The membership of the church is 450, with a Sabbath
school of 416 members, at present writing.
Unitarl\nism. — ^The first Unitarian society was
founded in Oakland under the auspices of Rev. Charles
W. Wendte, in 1886, with about fifty families, and at
the present it numbers about three hundred families,
or one thousand souls. This society of liberal Chris-
tians erected a handsome church edifice in 1 891, at a
cost of $80,000, and contributes an annual income of
about $9,000. Its bond of union is: "In the love of
truth and the Spirit of Jesus Christ we unite in the
worship of God and the service of man." It has about
two hundred in its Sunday school. It has also con-
nected with it several societies and clubs, among them
the Starr King Fraternity of two hundred sixty-six
members, which maintains reading room, entertainments
and literary classes, etc.; Unity Club of young people;
Lend a Hand arid Yule Clubs; Woman's Auxiliary,
eighty members. There are also Unitarian congre-
gations in Alameda and Berkeley, recently organized,
which have not yet erected church edifices. The build-
ing of the Oakland society is shown in plate No. 17.
Roman Catholic. — There are twelve Roman Cath-
olic parishes in the county, with a total membership of
about seven thousand five hundred, and church and
residence property valued at $200,000. Flourishing
parochial schools are running in each parish. Some
of these schools have prepared and sent specimens of
their work for exhibit in the Educational Department
at Chicago.
One of the finest churches of the denomination on
the Pacific Coast is that of St. Francis de Sales parish,
Oakland, just completed this year. It is shown in
plate No. 22.
Protestant Episcopal. — There are five Protestant
Episcopal parishes in Oakland; two of them, St. John's
and St. Paul's Churches, are in central Oakland; the
Church of the Advent, East Oakland; St. Andrews,
West Oakland, and Trinity, North Oakland. There
are also flourishing parisiies in Alameda and Berkeley,
and missions in other parts of the county.
Universalism. — The First Universalist congregation
of Oakland was organized some j'ears ago and has a
neat chapel seating about five hundred persons. It is
under the pa.storal chargeof Rev. Samuel Goodenough,
and has for many years been under his care.
Baptists. — The first organization of the Baptists in
Alameda was that of the First Church, Oakland, in 1854.
There are now ten organizations in the county, with nine
church buildings, of the aggregate value of about $70,-
000. The total membership is about one thousand
six hundred. The annual contributions for all pur-
poses averages about $25,000. There are thirteen
Sunday schools, with one thousand four hundred
pupils enrolled.
The Free Baptists have an organization in Oakland
with a membership of about one hundred and a build-
ing and lot worth about $6,000.
Disciples of Christ. — There are two congregations
of the Christian Church in Alameda County, with a
membership of about six hundred. The largest of
these is in Oakland and includes in its membership
leading citizens. The other is at Irvington, in Wash-
ington Township.
Evangelical Lutheran. — There are three Lu-
theran congregations in Alameda County; two of these
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
39
are German. They have church structures and large
congregations. The English Lutheran congregation
have recently purchased a lot in the central portion of
Oakland and are now erecting a handsome church
thereon.
Hebrew Congregations. — There are two He-
brew congregations in Oakland — one known as the
Orthodox and the other Reformed- The First Hebrew
Congregation owns a synagogue at Clay and Thirteenth
Streets and has regular services. At present it is
without a rabbi. The other congregation, known as
Beth Israel, is not ver)- large and is renting a chapel
for a synagogue.
Latter-day Saints — There is a small congrega-
tion of Latter-day Saints (Josephites — anti-polygamy
Mormons) who own a small church and lot in Oak-
land.
Oakland Young Men's Christian Association.
— The association in Oakland was organized in 1 879,
and has had a perpetual existence from that date for-
ward. Its earlier years were filled with many trials
and difficulties, and at some points it seemed as though
the work must be given up. These difficulties were
all surmounted, however, and to-day the association
has its home in the handsome building on the corner
of Twelfth and Clay Streets. The lot and improve-
ments upon it are to-day worth nearly, if not quite,
^100,000. The erection of the building is due to the
persistent efforts of Captain Bray, who was secretary
during the years from 1885 to 1891.
The nominal membership fee is five dollars per year,
including evening educational class advantages, to-
gether with all the privileges of the gymnasium, bowl-
ing alley, bathrooms, reading room, members' parlor,
social entertainments, receptions, and frequent literary
entertainments of a high order. The Junior Depart-
ment includes bo)'S from the ages of eleven to sixteen,
who have all the abo\'e privileges, under certain re-
strictions and during certain hours of the week. In
the Physical Department a thorough system of medical
examinations and measurements is carried out under
the directions of the physical instructor. No boy or
young man is permitted to exercise in the gymnasium
without having first taken the necessary examination,
to determine whether or not he has any physical im-
perfections which would make any line of exercise in-
jurious to him.
The management of the association is, at the present
time, vested in a Board of Directors, composed of eight-
een business men of the city. The membership roll
la-st year (1892) reached seven hundred.
Young Women's Christian Association. — On Oc-
tober 5, 1877, a number of ladies of Oakland met to-
gether and organized the Young Women's Christian
Association of Oakland. The association was incor-
porated under the laws of the State, on November 19,
1882. Its work among homeless and friendless young
women was similar to that done by the Young Men's
Christian Association. Its object was outlined to be
for the purposes of establishing an industrial depart-
ment to provide employment for destitute and unem-
ployed women; also a reading room and library for
girls and women; to seek out young women and
uncared-for children residing in the city, or who, on
arriving in Oakland friendless or homeless, needed
advice, sympathy, or temporary aid, to extend to them
the hand of encouragement, to surround them with
moral and religious influences, and to provide them
with a Christian home, to carry Bible truths, Christian
sympathy, love, and help to families needing such min-
istrations, also to persons confined in hospitals and
prisons.
A new, handsome building of three stories in
height was erected during 1892 and dedicated shortly
before Christmas. Its purpose and use is the same
as that of the Young Men's Christian Association.
The lot and building are worth about ,^40,000. It was
erected largely by the liberal contributions of friends.
It is being furnished the same way.
Young Men's Institute. — Taking pattern from the
Young Men's Christian Association's work among
young men, and especially among those homeless and
friendless strangers from the Eastern States, the younger
members of the Roman Catholic Church organized a
few years ago a society among the young members of
the denomination, called the Young Men's Insti-
tute. There are a number of these societies or
councils in Alameda County. They have a very bene-
ficial effect, providing rooms and places where young
men without homes may spend pleasant evenings.
Young Ladies' Institute. — Similar to the Young
Women's Christian Association is the Young Ladies'
Institute, with its membership confined to the young
women of the Roman Catholic Church or adherents
of that communion. It has three institutes in Ala-
meda County.
THE FRATERNAL SOCIETIES.
Free and Accepted Masons — Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows— Knights of Pythias — Ancient Order of United Work-
men— Knights of Honor — American Legion of Honor —
Chosen Friends — Woodmen of the World, etc.
In the early days of the Pioneers the fraternal so-
cieties of the older civilization followed to California,
40
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
and the Masonic and Odd Fellows' lodges were or-
ganized in every mining camp of any prominence.
Many of these old lodges still exist in the mining
towns, and scores of members still belong who annu-
ally send their dues, but who have drifted away into
other towns and business, and have not been in their
lodge room for many years. All the fraternal socie-
ties of prominence known in the Eastern States have
lodges, councils, or camps in California.
Masonic. — There is a lodge of F. and A. M. in
nearly all the cities and towns of Alameda County.
The total number of lodges in the county is nine,
with an aggregate membership of one thousand and
fifty.
There are three chapters of Royal Arch Masons^
with three hundred and fifty members.
There is one commandery of Knights Templar,
with a membership of one hundred and seventy-five.
There are a lodge, chapter and council of the Ac-
cepted and Ancient Scottish Rite, with one hundred
members.
There is a Council of Royal and selected Masters, of
one hundred members.
There are four chapters of the Order of the Eastern
Star in the county, with a membership of five hundred
and fifty.
Odd Fellows. — In Alameda County there are eight-
een subordinate lodges of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and two thousand members.
There are three encampments of the Patriarchal
branch, with two hundred and twenty-five members.
There is one canton of Patriarchs Militant, with a
membership of sixty.
There are eight Rebekah Degree lodges, and a
membership of seven hundred.
Knights of Pythias. — This order, founded on the
legendary friendship of Damon and Pythias, spread to
the Pacific Coast shortly after its organization in the
East, and its lodges in Alameda County were among
the earliest in California. There are now seven
lodges, with a membership of one thousand. There is
a division of the Uniform Rank, and several circles of
Pythian Sisters in the county.
Red Men. — The Independent Order of Red Men
had several flourishing tribes in Alameda County
prior to ten years ago, but some, if not all, surren-
dered their charters owing to local troubles. There
are now four tribes, with a membership of two hun-
dred and fifty.
Foresters. — There are in Alameda County seven
courts of the Ancient Order of Foresters, with
nine hundred members. There are also five circles
of the Companions of the Forest, with a membership of
two hundred.
The Independent Order of Foresters have five
courts and about one hundred members.
United Workmen. — Nearly all the death benefit
or bequeathment societies in the Union have lodges
councils, etc., in Alameda County, foremost among
them being the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
which organized the first three lodges on the Pacific
Coast in Oakland in 1876, and from this nucleus spread
across the bay to San Francisco and over the State
and coast, there being now about eighteen thousand in
the State. The first meeting of the Grand Lodge was
held in Oakland. There are now twenty-two lodges
in Alameda County, with a total membership of two
thousand three hundred.
KNIGHTS OF Honor.— The Knights of Honor
came to the Pacific Coast in 1 879. They have in Ala-
meda County five lodges and a total membership of
three hundred.
Chosen Friends. — The Order of Chosen Friends,
prior to the division and seceding of the so-called Inde-
pendent Order of Chosen Friends, of the Pacific Coast,
had upward of one thousand members in Alameda
County. It now has seven councils and four hundred
and fifty members in the county.
Woodmen of the World — The Woodmen of the
World were organized in Alameda County by members
from Colorado in 1892, and now have six camps in the
county, with a membership of four hundred.
Native Sons .^nd Daughters. — The Native Sons
of the Golden WeiJt is an organization composed of
young men — natives of California. They have nine
parlors in Alameda County, with eight hundred mem-
bers.
The Native Daughters of the Golden West have
two parlors in Alameda County. This organization is
similar to that of the Native Sons.
Grand Army. — There are in Alameda County about
one thousand five hundred survivors of the Union Army
and Navy of the late Civil War. Of these about four
hundred only are in the Grand Army of the Republic.
The.se are in five posts in various parts of the county.
TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.
There are five lodges of Good Templars in Alameda
County, with a membership of three hundred.
The Sons and Daughters of Temperance have one
division in Alameda County.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union has a
membership of about five hundred in Alameda County,
with branches in the various towns.
PLATE
CONGREeATIoNAL CliURSH, 12 1-" a. CLAY sts. OAKLAND.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
41
The Non-Partisan Woman's Christian Temperance
Union lias a branch society in Oakland.
The Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union
has an organization in the county.
There is a Francis Murpliy Temperance Society
with rooms in Oakland, kept up by contributions, hav-
ing reading rooms, parlors, etc.
latter on a cove in the Bay of San Francisco at the
foot of Grand Street, Alameda.
MISCELLANEOUS FRATERNAL SOCIETIES.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians have one lodge.
There is one lodge of the Knights and Lacies of
Honor.
The Sons of Veterans have one camp.
The Benevolent Protective Order of Elks have a
strong lodge.
There is one grove of the United Ancient Order of
Druids.
The Equitable Aid Union has one lodge in the
county.
An Assembly of the National Union was recently
formed in Oakland.
The Knights of the Golden Eagle have recently or-
ganized a castle.
The Sons of St. George and Daughters of St. George
have each a strong society.
The Patriotic Sons of America have one camp.
The Order of Scottish Clans have one clan.
There is one lodge of the Order of Herman's Sons.
There is a branch of the St. Andrew's Society.
There is a branch of the British Benevolent Society
and also an organization known as the British Ameri-
can Association in Alameda.
The Woman's Relief Corps, auxiliary to the Grand
Army, have four corps in Alameda County, each of
which raises funds and dispenses relief to the destitute
old soldiers or sailors and their families.
There is also one circle of the Ladies of the Grand
Army organized for the same purpose.
CLUBS.
There are in Alameda County about twenty-five
clubs of various kinds. There are in Oakland twelve
social clubs, most prominent among them the Athenian
and Deutscher. There are two athletic clubs, — the
Reliance and Acme. There are three boat clubs, —
the Oakland Canoe, the Alameda, and the Encinal of
Alameda. The two former have boathouses on the
estuary of San Antonio, or Oakland Creek, and the
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
There are a number of charitable institutions in the
county for the purpose of dispensing relief to the needy
and destitute. Among the most prominent of these is
the Associated Charities of Oakland, composed of del-
egates from the various religious denominations and
fraternal societies. This society investigates cases of
needy poor and destitute, and in conjunction with the
Oakland Benevolent Society, dispenses aid. These two
societies work together.
The Catholic Ladies' Aid Society was originated by
Mrs. Mary Lohse, an Alameda County lady, some
years ago, and is now a State society, /. f., has branches
in various counties. It raises funds and dispenses aid
to deserving poor.
The Daughters of Israel is a society formed of He-
brew ladies, but their charity is not confined exclu-
sively to the needy of their denomination.
The German Ladies' Aid Society is another society
that disburses considerable sums annually to worthy
poor.
The Oakland Ladies' Relief Society was organized
many years ago- It maintains an Old Ladies' Home
at Temescal, a suburb of Oakland.
Home for Orphans. — In 1887 a society was organ-
ized in East Oakland by a few philanthropic ladies to
aid children of destitute families in a small way.
They met occasionally for the purpose of sewing for
and supplying them with garments. They picked up
from time to time about a dozen waifs and cared for •
them until it was deemed expedient to remove to West
Oakland. Here a small cottage was rented and the
children placed in charge of a matron. The work of
the society finally awakened public interest and it grew
and prospered so that it was found necessary to re-
move to more commodious quarters. These were
found at the corner of Taylor and Campbell Streets,
West Oakland. This property was purchased by the
society, which had incorporated under the name of the
West Oakland Home for the Care and Training of
Orphans, Half Orphans and Destitute Children, for
,$8,000. The late Charles Crocker gave ;$ 1,000 and
the remaining ^7,000 was contributed by citizens, in
smaller amounts, giving the home to the association
free from debt. In 1890 the home was found inade-
quate on account of the large increase in the number
of children to care for, and an annex was erected at a
cost of ,$8,500 additional.
42
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
CHAPTER VII.
CITY OF OAKLAND AND ENVIRONS.
The Second City in California — "Athens of the Pacific" —
Great Railroad Center — Unexcelled Climate — Fine Har-
bor— Superior Manufacturing Sites — Educational Advan-
tages— Excellent Public Schools and Colleges for Tech-
nical Training.
The city of Oakland, the county seat of Alameda
County, California, is on the mainland, on the shores
of the Bay of San Francisco, directly opposite the city
and peninsula of that name. It is partly in Oakland
and partly in Brooklyn Township. The following con-
densed statement with refei'ence to this city was pub-
lished in the December, 1892, North American Review:
"Oakland is the second city in California; popula-
tion, sixty thousand; steady annual increase, four thou-
sand; situation directly opposite San Francisco on the
eastern shore of the bay, eight miles from city to
city. Trains and ferryboats make connecting trips,
one every fifteen minutes; time across, thirty minutes.
Ferry trains penetrate the business and residence por-
tions; single fare, fifteen cents; round trip, twentj'-five
cents; monthly commutation ticket, daily round trip,
;g3.00per month, or fivecents across — eight miles forfive
cents. Number of passengers daily, over twenty thou-
sand. The steamer ride (fifteen minutesj is across the
most beautiful harbor in America. Oakland is the
actual terminus of the transcontinental railroad; all
inland trains stop here, San Francisco being reached
by ferry. Freight and passenger service are separate.
Passenger boats carry from two thousand to four thou-
sand passengers each. The importance of Oakland as
a railroad center is well stated in the official 'Report
of the Internal Commerce of the United States,' at
page 178, thus: 'Oakland is in fact a great railroad
center, the system which penetrates there being local,
suburban. State, coast, and transcontinental.' Daily
departure and arrival of trains, over three hundred.
" Oakland Harbor.-^— On the south side of the cit\-
stretches the only east side harbor, an arm of the baj- ;
^990,000 completes it; the work can be done in two
years; ;^ 1,5 34,000 has already been expended by the
government. Harbor freight trafific, 1874, only one
hundred fifty-four thousand three hundred tons; in
1888, two million five hundred ninety thousand tons;
it is now over three million tons annually.
"Electric Railroads. — City, suburban and cross
town roads, fifty miles; cable roads, ten miles; any
fare, with transfers, five cents; steam train from eastern
to western city limits, five miles. No charge within
city limits allowed.
"Resources, Wealth, etc. — The taxable base, real
estate alone in the city, 1^42, 000,000; personal property,
^4,000,000. One dollar on the hundred is the charter
limit of city tax. Streets, bituminized or macadamized,
one hundred miles; sewers, one hundred and fifty
miles.
"Manufactories. — Ninety-eight; people employed,
five thousand — including cotton mills, nail works, iron-
works, fruit packing establishments, carriage factories,
piano factory, flour mills, planing mills, potteries, shirt
factories, tanneries, boiler works, paint factories, boot
and shoe factory, sash and door factory, brass works,
jute mills, glass works, railroad shops, etc. Banks,
seven; capital stock paid in, ;§ 1,604,000; deposits,
$10,513,530.
"Athens of the Pacific— Properly so called be-
cause of educational and geographical resemblances.
To the west lie the bay and islands, like the Grecian
Archipelago; eastward rise the slope and Coast Range
foothills, of the same height and appearance as those
about Athens. This slope rises gently from the bay
shore; at from three to seven miles inland it rises into
undulating foothills from fifty to five hundred feet high.
No view surpasses that here presented facing the bay
and Golden Gale.
"Schools and Churches. — Public school children,
ten thousand; private school children, four thousand.
Bonds now being e.xpended, ^400,000, to enlarge the
common and high school facilities, now rivaling the
very best. California had the benefit of the older
States' experience, and has leaped to the educational
vanguard at once. The State University is but five
miles north of Oakland's center, at Berkeley — endow-
ment $5,000,000; students, thirteen hundred. Oakland
churches, sixty-six, all denominations; membership,
eighteen thousand.
"Societies. — Fraternal, musical, and art, of opera-
tive activity, are here found, as well as in the oldest
States.
"Clim.vte. — Fresh, cool ocean atmosphere, with no
harsh winds. Why? — Because west of San Francisco
rises a range of hills one hundred feet high, east of
Oakland a range at its summit from seven hundred to
nine hundred feet high. This pitches the summer
trade winds of the ocean upward, as they pass over
Oakland, and to a height of (say) nine hundred feet.
Oakland, cool, shaded and fanned, but never wind-
swept, lies in the triangle of repose, on the slope east
of the bay, west of its own hills, and under the cloud-
bearing trade winds of summer. There is more differ-
ence between the San Francisco and the Oakland cli-
mate than would be found in five hundred miles' travel
in the Mississippi Valley.
VIEW(L00KING EAST) OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERS'
PLATE 19.
y, GROUNDS & BUILDINGS, BERKELEY CAL. , / .< ,
vievUlookinG WEST) OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSfl
plate: zo
~ It
BERKELEY. BAY SL CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO & GOLDEN GATE.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
43
"A soil warm and sand}-, produces fruit and flowers
the year round; the grade furnislies perfect drainage;
germ diseases are practically unknown; mortalit}-, onl}-
thirteen to the thousand. Flowers bloom here out-
doors the }-ear round, thousands of them. The palm,
banana, orange, magnolia, heliotrope and rose flourish
side b)' side. Thrift and comfort are universal. The
green lawn is in front of the cottage as well as the
palatial residence. County population-, one hundred
thousand. Every fruit, grain, and flower, ever}- vine
and tree produced in California, thri\-es in Alameda
Count)'.
"Oakland is the second city in the State, but only in
wealth and population. In education, refinement, life
enjoyment and civilization force, Oakland stands first
on the Pacific Coast."
The above is a concise resume of Oakland and her
peculiar advantages, but it may be well to go more
into detail for the purposes of this work. The dis-
tance intervening between Oakland and San Francisco
is five miles, and it is sometimes said that Oakland is
on the "land side," and San Francisco on the "water
side" — meaning thereby that while Oakland is on the
mainland, and is easy of access from north, east and
south, San Francisco is built upon a narrow peninsula
which is impossible of access by land except from the
south. This cause gives to Oakland the termini of the
principal railroads already existing, and also much
greater prospective importance, as destined to be one
of the greatest railroad centers in the United States a
few years hence. Railroads, a good harbor, numerous
large manufactories, and ample facilities for more, give
Oakland first-class importance among Pacific Coast
cities in an industrial sense.
With reference to this a recent writer says: "The
sharp contrast between the two sides of the great Bay
of San Francisco impressed the minds of the earliest
settlers. On one side a peninsula of land, surrounded
by deep water, but itself divided between the posses-
sion of shifting sands of the beach and of steep hill-
sides, swept every day by chill}- breezes and often by
volumes of fog from the neighboring ocean — little
herbage and scarcely a tree in sight; on the -other side
there was a natural park — a broad and gentle slope
covered with groves and groups of magnificent oaks,
which came down quite to the water's edge and dipped
their branches in the sea — the whole covered in winter
and spring by a brilliant carpet of luxuriant grass and
red, white, and purple flowers. But the better natural
harbor being on the other side of the bay, the great
city of California was founded there, and Oakland was
left to grow slowly for many years. But gradually, as
means of communication were established, and as peo-
ple learned that the difference between the climates of
the two sides of the bay was as great as can ordinarily
be found by going from one zone to another, and
especially as schools and municipal improvements in-
creased, the population of Oakland grew, because this
was the best side of the bay to live upon. The people
who came had means and taste. They spared — as
often as they could — the native oaks, and they planted
European forest trees between them; they lined the
streets with the trees of the temperate and the tropical
zones; they built elegant houses and surrounded them
with beautiful gardens; they made streets which are a
paradise for drives, and, going further back to the
nearest hills, they planted their villas and their gar-
dens upon the slopes or in the warm elbows of the
hills, where they can look down upon the forest of
roofs and spires, upon the blue waters of the bay, upon
the western wall of mountains, upon the Golden Gate
opening through it, and upon the distant ocean be-
yond. Such is fair Oakland, 'the Athens of the Pa-
cific,' and the home of much that is best and most
promising in California."
EARLY HISTORY AND STEADY PROGRESS.
The first actual settler on the site of what is now
the city of Oakland, aside from the Spanish grantees,
was Moses Chase, who pitched his tent at what is now
the foot of Broadway, in the winter of 1849—50, as a
hunter. He was followed by the Patten Brothers, in
February, 1850. Next came Colonel Henry S. Fitch
and Colonel Whitney, who, foreseeing that a great
city would in time spring upon this land side of the
bay, made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the
site from Peralta, the Spanish grantee. In the summer
of 1850 came Messrs. Moore, Carpentier, and Adams,
who squatted upon the land, claiming that it belonged
to the government and not to Peralta, and erected a
shanty near the foot of Broadway. The site of the
present city was then covered with dense thickets of
brush and live oak shrubs and trees, through which
ran cattle trails in different directions. The advent of
these last-named gentlemen was the inauguration of
the squatter war and title contests, which lasted
for years. This agitation had a tendency to attract
many to Oakland who probably would have sought
other portions of the State.
In 1852 Oakland was incorporated as a town, by an
Act of the Legislature, and the Act was signed by Gov-
ernor Bigler at Benicia, then the capital of the State,
on May 21, and the first election under the charter
was held on the second Monday of the same month.
This was the inauguration of the great city which was
44
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
to be, and now is, and which wise men then saw in
the distance, as through a glass darkly. The same
year a steamer was put upon the creek route, to run
between this embryo city and San Francisco.
In the spring of 1853 the attention of scholars was
directed to this fair and picturesque site, as a desirable
place to found institutions of learning, and Rev. Henr\'
Duiant established here the Oakland College School,
which was the germ .of the State University, Dr. Du-
rant becoming its first president.
In March, 1854, Oakland was inaugurated as a city,
and H. W. Carpentier was elected the first Mayor; and
soon after, that powerful engine of civilization and
progress, the press, was founded in this young city,
and a paper started called the Alameda Express. This,
however, v/as preceded by that other great civilizing
and refining power — the church — Rev. Samuel B. Bell
having established a small clunch somewhere in the
vicinity of what is now Third and Franklin Streets.
The city grew slowly up to the year 1864, when it
started out in the real race of progressive and rapid
growth. The third great civilizer and aid in progres-
sion had come into the field — the locomotive. Ground
had been broken for the construction of the great
transcontinental railway, and the railroad builders
were at work; and Oakland was the only point where
the railroad and tide water could meet; and it was de-
termined to make this city the terminus of that great
highway which was being pushed across the continent.
It took some six years to get it here, but it came, for
it had no other outlet to the Pacific Ocean, where car
and ship could meet and e.xchange cargoes.
The federal census of i?6o showed a population in
the city limits of one thousand five hundred and fifty-
three. For the next ten years Oakland forged ahead,
the census of 1870 showing a population of ten thou-
sandfivehundred. The next decade showed an increase
of two hundred and fifty per cent, the census of 1880
giving a population of thirty-five thousand five hun-
dred. Since 1880 the increase in population has been
remarkable, and to-day the lowest estimate is fifty-five
thousand, while those acknowledged to be experts
claim that the population is not less than sixty thou-
sand. Add to this the population of the natural sub-
urbs of Oakland — Berkeley, Claremont, Temescal,
Lorin, Golden Gate, Piedmont, Brooklyn, outside the
city limits, and the population would be not less than
seventy-five thousand, or nearly fifteen thousand more
than the population of the whole county in 1880.
The increase in wealth has kept pace with the in-
crease in population. In 1854 the assessed valuation
of property in the city limits was $100,905; in 1864,
$794,121; in 1870, $4,257,294; in 1875,519,869,162;
in 1880, $28,691,640; in 1893, $46,500,000.
In 1 854 Oakland was without streets, in fact, though
the survey showed them upon the maps. To-day there
are some one hundred and fifty miles of legal streets,
about one hundred miles of them paved and macad-
amized, furnishing the finest drives of an)' cit}- on the
continent. There are two hundred and twenty miles
of sidewalks, about one hundred and twenty-five of
them concrete paved. Within the past three years
many streets have been paved with bituminous rock, a
pavement the material for which nature has furnished
this State with an inexhaustible supply, ready mi.xed
and prepared, and when laid makes the finest, smooth-
est, cleanest, and most durable of pavements, and
what is of greater benefit still, it is comparatively
noiseless.
In 1853 the first attempt at the organization of a fire
department was made. Three volunteer companies
were organized. The Board of Trustees appropriated
$2,000 for the purchase of an engine, and two cisterns
were constructed. This was tiie starting of wliat has
since grown into one of the most efficient fire depart-
ments on the coast.
The area of Oakland has increased with its increase
of population. Three times its charter lines have been
extended since its first incorporation as a city, in 1854.
The area of the city at the present time is about four-
teen square miles; but the time is not far distant wlien
there will be eitlier a consolidated city and county of
Oakland, or its cliarter lines will be extended to the
whole limits of thetwo townships, taking inthenumerous
growing and populous suburbs which arc now realiz-
ing the great need of municipal government. The
agitation of this subject commenced about three years
ago.
It ma\- be of interest to note and give the dates of a
few of the more important events in the city's history:
In 1866 the first sewer was laid, and the same year
marked the introduction of city water by the Contra
Costa Water Company. In 1867 began the sy.stem of
street improvement with the macadamizing of Broadway.
In 1872 eleven miles of street were macadamized, and
the same year the houses were ordered to be numbered.
In 1875 the Main Lake sewer, by means of which the
Oakland street drains can be flushed twice every daj'
with clear salt water, was begun, and a year later it
was completed at a cost of $166,000 — the most ex-
pensive public improvement which had then been
made. In 1877 the present handsome City Hall was
built upon the site of an older one, which was burned
down. The dates of several other innovations were
as follows: 1853, opening of the first public school;
\
M
-s^'
' jjiS?.'e*se**«^ "
4'
SOLAR SALT WORKS ON ALAMEDA C R E E K,(.near the bay or san franciscd ) OFFICE k
PU^TE 21.
^^*
-^ 5=j-l_^,i>-
5ACRAMENT0 ST., SAN FRANCISCD B F. BARTON PROP. ^.'^^V. EVpoLT'MfpoX''///rs""/.°'5''''
5.S.S CRYSTAL.INE jALT PILES.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
45
1854, first newspaper, a weekly called the Contra Costa;
i860, harbor improvements undertaken at expense of
city and county; 1863, the first railroad operated, from
Broadway to end of wharf, four miles; 1865, railroad
extended from Broadway to Brooklyn and later same
year to Hay ward; 1 864, first street railroad ; 1865, gas
introduced; 1865, jute mills established; 1867, first
bank; 1868, fire limits established; 1868, Lusk Can-
ning Factory opened; 1869, High School founded;
first overland train enters Oakland; 1870, Webster
Street bridge built; 1872, annexation of Brooklyn;
1872, opening of San Pablo Avenue; 1873, extension
of the local railroad; 1873, city wharf built; 1874,
United States Government work begun on harbor;
1874, reorganization of Fire Department; 1876, Eighth
Street bridge built; 1876, fire alarm telegraph, intro-
duced; 1878, Free Public Library; 1880, South Pacific
Coast (narrow gauge) Railroad enters Oakland; 1881,
California and Nevada Narrow Gauge Road started;
1881, California Hosiery Company's factorj^; 1882,
Judson Iron Works and Pacific Nail Works; 1884,
cotton mills; 1886, Board of Trade established; 1888,
adoption of new city charter; 1892, voting of $400,000
for new schoolhouses.
PARKS, WATER PARK AND BOULEVARD.
In the body of the city there is a salt water lake,
known as Lake Merritt, or Lake Peralta, connecting by-
tide gates with the harbor and bay. This lake, or
water park, belongs to the city. Its waters can be re-
newed with each ebb and flow of the tide. The main
sewer of the city is flushed from it. When tide is
low in the bay, the high tide caught in the lake is
turned in at the eastern end of this main sewer and
rushes through, discharging in the bay. Proceedings
are well under way for the beautifying of this lake, or
water park. The improvement will include a boule-
vard around it, a distance of about three miles. This
boulevard will be one hundred and fifty feet wide,
will provide for foot walks, street cars, and a double
driveway, and will also involve the dredging of the
lake to a uniform depth of about five feet. This, when
completed, will furnish at once as beautiful a land
drive and as beautiful a water park as can be found in
this country. The sum of ^1,000,000, it is estimated,
will be required to complete this work. A portion of
the boulevard is now under construction, and a steam
dredger was built during the past winter upon the
lake for the purpose of cleaning it out. There are
also eleven handsome, well-kept parks in various por-
tions of the city. The grass and shrubbery in these
are green all the year round, and, in strange contrast
with those of the Eastern cities, men, women, and
children may be seen — the children enjoying them-
selves playing in the walks, and the older persons
walking around, or sitting enjoying the pleasant
weather^-in November, December, January, and Feb-
ruary as much as in April, May, June, July, August,
September, or October.
OAKLAND HARBOR.
The most magnificent harbor on the American con-
tinent is the Bay of San Francisco, which is capable
of accommodating the maritime fleets and navies of the
world. A portion of this immense harbor and the
safest part is on the south side of the city of Oakland,
being an arm of the bay completely sheltered. It is
here that many vessels, especially the whaling fleet,
cast anchors for a winter haven. Along this arm of
the bay, whose geographical name is the Estuary of
San Antonio, but commonly known as Oakland Creek,
terminating at East Oakland in a large circular basin,
are facilities for wharves and manufactories second to
none on the Pacific Coast or in the world. This har-
bor is being gradually improved. The sum of $1,5 34,-
000 has been expended upon it by the government,
and ;$990,000 will complete the work yet to be done.
It is expected that this will be finished next year. As
yet there is only a beginning in the matter of wharves
and of manufacturing industries along this water front
of more than forty miles in Alameda County. The
difference in the tonnage of Oakland Harbor between
[874 and last year will show to what extent it has
grown in less than twenty years. The tonnage traffic
in 1874 was only one hundred fifty-four thousand
three hundred tons. In 1888 it had growp to two
million five hundred ninety thousand, and the past year
it was over three million tons. When the improve-
ments now in progress are completed and the tidal
canal completed between the San Leandro Bay and
the estuary, it is confidently expected that a number
of new wharves will be erected and the tonnage largely
increased. This canal is partially cut through the
neck of land between the -two bodies of water, and it
is understood will be completed in the course of a
year. It is for the purpose of keeping the channel of
the estuary flushed out, by the ebb and flow of the
tides.
Oakland, however, has in effect two harbors — an in-
ner and an outer. The former will admit vessels draw-
ing eighteen feet of water, and the latter possesses a
depth varying frorri nothing at the shore line to a
depth accommodating the largest ships at the outer
end of the existing wharves — e.xtending from the end
46
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
of the mole on the northerly side more than two miles
into the bay. About all the transhipments from vessel
to car, and vice versa, are made at the end of these
long wharves, while the local shipping traffic is con-
ducted in the inner harbor — the estuary and the basin,
as the lower and the upper portions are respectively
known. During the year 1 891-92 the shipping traffic
in the estuary and the basin amounted to upward of
two million tons, and the traffic at the end of the pier
to perhaps lialf as much more. When the depth of
water in the estuary and its approaches has been in-
creased from fourteen to twenty feet or more, there
will be scarcely any limit to the growth of the com-
merce of Oakland, and that can be done if the present
plans of the United States engineers are executed.
Even with the present depth of water, the shipping
trade of Oakland would amount to several times its
present magnitude, if there were 'more wharves, and
more particularly if there was warehouse accommoda-
tion. Perhaps there is nothing for which Oakland
waits with so muchjmpatience at this time as a good
dock and warehouse system. The present indications
are favorable to the early attention of docks and ware-
houses, the work having been already commenced on
the inner harbor.
THE CITY GOVERNMENT.
The legislative department of the city is under the
control of a City Council, composed of eleven members,
elected biennially, one from each of the seven wards
and four from the city at large. The Council is the
Board of Aldermen of the city. It grants franchises,
fixes tax levies and water rates. Orders for all street
work and laying sewers emanate from the City Coun-
cil. The work on streets and sewers, however, is done
by the Superintendent of Streets under the direction of
the Board of Public Works who are appointed by the
Mayor to serve four years. The members of the Coun-
cil serve practically without compensation, receiving
the nominal salary of ^40 per month.
The executive of the City Government is the Mayor,
who receives a salary of $3,000 per year. His duties
are similar to those of like office in other cities. His
term of office is two years, and he is elected b\- the
people.
The other officers, such as Auditor, Assessor, Tax
Collector, etc., are similar in name and duty to those
of the same nature in other cities of the same class.
The Board of Education also consists of eleven
members, elected biennially at the same time and in
the same manner as the members of the City Council.
All legislation pertaining to the public schools is con-
trolled by this Board, but the carrying out of contracts
for schoool buildings, furniture, and supplies is left to
the Board of Public Works. The City Superintendent
of Schools is ex-officio Secretary of the Board of Ed-
ucation.
The Board of Public Works and cx-officio Board of
Police and Fire Commissioners are appointed by the
Mayor of the city. Their terms are four years and are
so fi.xed that one member goes out of office every two
years, thus giving each Mayor (whose term is only
two years) the appointment of one member of the
Board of Public Works, except in case of resignation,
removal, or death, in which case the Mayor then in
office fills the vacancies. Only two of the Board of
Public Works may be members of one political party.
All street work and other public work of the city is
under the direction of this Board. It appoints the
Superintendent of Streets and his deputies and assi.st-
ants, also the Chief Engineer and other officers and
employes of the Fire Department, the Chief, Cap-
tains, and members of the Police force, all of whom
serve during the pleasure of the Board, but can only
be removed for cause.
There is a Board of Health, consisting of five mem-
bers, appointed by the Mayor, whose terms of office are
two years and are so appointed that two of them go
out of office and the other three in alternate years.
The Board of Health has charge of all sanitary meas-
ures. It has the appointing of a Health Officer, who
is also City Physician, and must be at least thirty years
of age and a graduate of a regular medical college.
The Health Officer is the executive officer of the
Board, and must see that all laws and ordinances relat-
ing to the public health and the rules and regulations
of the Board of Health are enforced. There are also
Sanitary and Plumbing Inspectors under the direction
of the Health Officer and the Board of Health.
PROPERTY VALUES IN AND NEAR
OAKLAND.
While Oakland is all that could be desired as a
place of residence, it is a matter of fact that those seek,
ing investment for the purpose of making it a perma-
nent place of abode will find property values very
moderate and taxation comparatively light.
The most valuable residence property in the city is
held at $150 a front foot. Medium property may be
had from $50 to $75, and cheap lots which are access-
ible by steam and street cars are sold at from ^20 to
$dp a front foot, while suburban sites may be pur-
chased at from $10 to ;g20 per front foot.
PLATE 22,
CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS oE S/\LES, CGKNER Of 21=^ AND GROVE 5ii OAKLAND CAL
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
47
The following comparative tables were recently pre-
pared b\^ Mr. A. A. Denison, showing that, notwith-
standing the natural advantages of climate, location,
etc., real estate is cheap in comparison with other cities
of California and Eastern States : —
Price per foot of most valuable business property: — •
Chicago |5,ooo
Minneapolis i.Soo
Kansas City i>75o
Los Angeles '• 3.ooo
Oakland 1.500
San Diego 2,000
San Francisco S.ooo
Price per front foot of cheapest business propert}-
within one mile of center of business: —
Chicago $300
Minneapolis 100
Kansas City 60
Los Angeles i5'^
Oakland 4°
San Diego 100
San Francisco 150
Price per front foot of most desirable residence prop-
ert)':—
Cli icago $800
MinneapoHs 300
Kansas City 200
Los Angeles : 500
Oakland 100
San Diego 200
San Francisco 600
Price per lot (with size) of good medium residence
property: —
Chicago, 25x150 $5,000
Minneapolis, 25x150 3,000
Kansas City, 50x100 fe.ooo to 4,000
Los Angeles, 50x100 3,000 to 5,000
Oakland, 50.XI00 1,500 to 2,000'
" 25x100 850 to 1,200
San Diego, 50x140 2,000 to 3,500
San Francisco, 25x100 i,Soo to 4,000
Price of cheapest residence propert)', giving size
of lots, within two miles of business center: —
Chicago, 25x100 |2,ooo
Minneapolis, 50x100 600
Kansas Cit}', 50x100 600
Los Angeles, 50x150 400
Oakland, 25x100 150
San Diego, 25x100. 200
San Francisco, 25x100 500
Highest and lowest prices of acres within four miles
of business center: —
Chicago |io,ooo to ^20,000
Minneapolis 1,250 to 5,000
Kansas City 500 to 1,0000
Los Angeles 1,750 to 5,000
Oakland 250 to 2,000
San Diego..". 500 to 5,000
OAKLAND'S SCHOOLS.
Early History and Present Status — Excellent Buildings and
Competent Instructors.
The history of the public schools of Oakland dur-
ing the past thirty-five years is an interesting one and
shows wonderful progress. Parents desiring a de-
lightful residence place with the best school advan-
tages, will find Oakland one of the best, if not the
ver)' best, place in the United States for the education
of their children.
The earliest record of public schools in Oakland is
found in a note of a Board of Education meeting on
October 14, 1858, when R. A. Morse presented his
bill for $675 for teaching school during the ten
months next preceding, and so fragmentary are the
records of the time that it is not shown whether the
bill was ever paid. In February, i860, Franklin
Warner succeeded Mr. Morse, and in March, 1862,
the Board of Education purchased the lot on which
the Lafayette School now stands, and erected thereon
a two-roomed schoolhouse.
The first Act of the State Legislature creating a
Board of Education for the city of Oakland was
approved March 31, 1866, and in accordance there-
with eight members were appointed by the City
Council. The teachers, in 1867, under this Board,
were six in number, having the charge of three hun-
dred and eighty -two pupils, and the pay roll amounted
to only ,$510. The Legislature of 1868 passed an Act
enlarging the powers of the Board of Education of
Oakland, defining its powers and duties. During the
past twenty-five years the public schools have been
in a highly flourishing condition, and are now second
to none in the Union.
During the first \'ear after the passage of the new
Act, fifteen teachers wevt paid ^1,240 monthly, and
had the charge of five hundred and twenty-seven
pupils. The Legislature of 1868 also approved an
Act authorizing Oakland to issue ^50,000 in ten
per cent bonds, for the purchase of school sites and
erection of buildings. Four other issues of bonds
have since been made for school purposes. In
1870, ^50,000 of ten per cents; in 1872,^50,000 in
eight per cents; in 1874, ,$12,000 in eight per cents,
and at a special bond election in 1892, the sum
of $400,000 was voted for the use of the School
Department in purchasing building sites and erection
of new buildings. In 1874 the first two issues were
redeemed by a new issue of ,$100,000 in eight per
cents. These bonds have been nearly all redeemed.
The erection of a new High School at a cost of
$165,000 is now in progress, and, when completed, the
present High School building will be used as a
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
Grammar School. The remaining 3235,000, raised
from the sale of the $400,000 bonds, is being ex-
pended in the erection of new buildings, and in
making needed additions to others. When these are
completed, Oakland will be one of the best equipped
cities, with regard to its public schools, in the Union.
There is one feature of the Oakland School Depart-
ment which is unique — in which it stands quite alone
— and that is in the possession of a fully equipped
Astronomical Observatory. This is the only Public
School Department in the world which is thus pro-
vided. The Observatory building was erected and
equipped with funds furnished for that purpose by a
private citizen of Oakland, the late Anthony Chabot,
and by him was made a free gift to the Board of
Education, in trust for the city of Oakland. Its orig-
inal cost was $15,000. By a bequest in his will, he
left an additional sum for improvements to the Observ-
atory, and these have been recently completed by
the Board of Education. It is situated in the- middle
of Lafayette Square, which is bounded by Tenth,
Eleventh, Jefferson and Grove Streets, and the use of
which, for this purpose, was given by the City
Council. Its exact geographical position is in latitude
37 deg., 48 min., 5 sees, north; longitude 122 deg.,
16 min., 34.4 sees, west from Greenwich, or, in time,
8 hours, 9 minutes, 6.3 seconds west from Greenwich ;
3 hours, O minutes, 54.2 seconds west from Wash-
ington.
The Superintendent of Schools is Director of the
Observatoiy, and the Astronomers in charge are
Charles Burckhalter, of Oakland, and C. B. Hill, of the
San Francisco Sub-office of the United States Coa.st
and Geodetic Survey. The in.struments are as fol-
lows: A Clark eight-inch equatorial, with eyepieces
of powers from forty to eight hundred ; a fine position
micrometer and spectroscope ; a Fauth transit, the
exact counterpart of the in.strunient in use upon
Mount Hamilton. The chronograph and mean time
clocks were made b\' Fauth, the sidereal clock b\'
Howard, and the chronometers by Negus.
Monday evenings are reserved for the schools, and
Friday evenings for Observatory work. The other
evenings of the week, except Sunday, are given to the
public. Cards of admission are obtained on applica-
tion to the Director of the observatory, the City .Super-
intendent of Schools, at his office in the City Hall,
where a record of appointments is kept and publicly
displayed. Ten is the largest number for which cards
are issued for any one evening.
The teachers under the direction of the Oakland
Board of Education are paid as well as the best in anv
city in the land. In the upper grades there are man\-
cities where the salaries are much higher than those
paid in Oakland, and this is particularly true as re-
gards principalships, but in the grammar and primary
grades the salaries are in advance of those paid in
most places.
All teachers are required to hold a certificate given
by the City Board of E.xamination, composed of the
Superintendent and four other members appointed by
the Board of Education. This Board holds examina-
tions semiannually, and is further empowered to
grant city certificates without examination in certain
specified cases.
The system of classification now satisfactorily in
use comprises eleven grades, from the time of the
pupil's entrance, at the age of six, into the primar)-
department, at the eighth or lowest grade, to gradua-
tion, at the age of .seventeen, from the High School,
thoroughly fitted for entrance, primarily, to the State
University, and, incidentally, to any of the great col-
leges of the country. Four numbered grades are
included, respectively, in the Primary and Grammar
Schools, and the High School has three classes.
Furthermore, each grade is subdivided by scholarship
into "A" and "B" divisions, subject to a semiannual
reclassification and promotion.
The High School ranks, according to the opniion
of experienced educators, with the very best of its
class in the whole country. Three courses are car-
ried on side by side, each uniting with the others in
certain branches ; these are the literary, scientific, and
classical courses, and in all of them special promi-
nence is given to English, in which branch of study it
is frequently found that candidates for universitj-
matriculation are poorly prepared^.
Drawing is studied through all the grades, under a
special in.structor, becoming naturally more complex
with the advanced pupils, until, with the High School
grades, it takes the form of industrial and inventive
drawing. A department f)f industrial education is
maintained, also under a special instructor, where
there have been fitted up benches for woodworkers,
etc.
For the benefit of such as are at work during the
ordinary school hours, a night school is maintained
for five nights of every week at one of the Grammar
Schools in each locality of the city, and at the High
School building, where boys and girls who cannot
attend school during the daytime, have an opportu-
nity of obtaining an education. The sessions last two
hours and a half
There are at present fourteen public schools in
Oakland, and three others, including the new High
°OLIV!N^ VINEYARD" WINERY PLANT and RESIDE
PLATL 23
;^^^V.,*<^^^-x^-
-? ^IC-.^ r-4 ,i •^4 ^'^'•
E OF JULIUS P. SMITH, LIVERMORE VALLEY, CAL
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
49
School, will be erected within the next twelve
months.
The enrollment of children in the public schools at
the present time is nearly eleven thousand. The daily
average attendance for one hundred and ninety-nine
days' of the school year 1892-93, was nearly seven
thousand. There are one hundred and ninety-eight
regular teachers in the employ of the department.
Of these twenty-two are males and one hundred and
seventy-six females. The salary of the highest is
;g225 per month — that of the principal of the High-
School — and the lowest, the half-day assistants, ^40
per month. The tax levy for school purposes during
1892-93 was twenty-four cents on the $100 valuation.
It will be seen from the foregoing that anyone
desiring to find a location for a healthful and pleasant
residence, with une.xcelled climatic conditions, and at
the same time the best educational and other equally
desirable advantages for their families, cannot find a
better place to settle down than Oakland or some of
the towns in Alameda County adjacent to the county
seat.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The Oakland Free Library has about five thousand
members and has twenty five thousand volumes. It
is governed by five trustees, elected at the biennial
municipal election. There is a reading room in con-
nection with the library. The reading room is kept
open daily, holiday's excepted, between the hours of
8 A. M. and 9 p. m. There are under control of the
library trustees four branch reading rooms, one each
in East Oakland, West Oakland, North Oakland, and
at Twenty-third Avenue. These are under the
charge of curators, and have many visitors daily.
NEWSPAPERS.
There are in Oakland three daily newspapers, one
morning and two evening. The oldest of these is the
Morning Times. The evening papers are the Ti'ibuue
and the Enquire?-. These papers are all ably con-
ducted, and cover fully each day all portions of the
city, as well as having special news reports from the
suburban towns. They also give daily the general
news of the State, our country, and the world. Be-
sides these there are twelve secular and six religious
weeklies published in the city.
Lake Temescal, located in the hills northeast of Oak-
land. This lake is formed by a dam across Temescal
Creek. It has had an approximate capacity of one
hundred and ninety million gallons, but during the
fall of 1890 the dam was raised, and the capacitj^
about doubled. This was the first important source
of supply. It has an elevation of about four hundred
and thirty feet above the Oakland base line. Being
considerably higher than the other sources, the water
from this lake is principally used for tli*' most elevated
parts of the city and suburbs. Sausal Creek, east of
the city, is made to furnish the water for Highland
Park and vicinity. The main source of supply, how-
ever, is Lake Chabot, located in the hills about eight
miles east of the city. This lake is about four miles
in length, and the surface level has an elevation of
about two hundred and thirty feet above the city. It
carries, at the present rate of consumption, several
years of supply. According to the official statement
of the company, they have expended about ^4,250,000
in establishing this system of water supply. In 1889
the company greatly improved the quality of the
water by constructing a complete and extensive system
ofstorage, settling and distributing reservoirs. About
two hundred miles of water pipe have been laid by
the company. It is e.stimated b)- competent engineers
that the water supply for Oakland is sufficient for a
population of fully one million people, and when our
city contains as many inhabitants as that, there are
other sources yet untouched, adequate for the in-
creased demand.
The great extent of lawns and gardens in and about
the city, which are kept so bright and attractive by
irrigation during the summer months, makes Oakland
the largest consumer of water, according to popula-
tion, of an}' modern city. The average consumption
of Oakland per capita per day is two hundred and
thirty-five gallons. Washington, D. C, is the next
largest consumer, using one hundred and seventy
gallons, while London uses only thirty-three gallons
per capita, and San Francisco, seventy gallons.
AN INEXHAUSTIBLE WATER SUPPLY.
The city of Oakland and its suburbs are supplied
with water from three sources, the first of which is
CHABOT HOME.
Among the institutions of Oakland is the Chabot
Woman's Home, endowed by the late Anthony Chabot.
It is situated at No. 66 Sixth Street. It is not an
eleemosynary institution, but is a place where work-
ing women who have no homes can have home com-
forts and a pleasant room, with library and other like
privileges, for a moderate sum. The home is gov-
erned by a Board of corporate trustees and is in charge
of a matron.
50
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
AMUSEMENTS.
For many years Oakland has been without a proper
theater, and first-class companies seldom came to the
city on account of the poor accommodations. There
were several halls and the Colosseum, but until the
erection of the Macdonough Theater, in 1891-92, none
were adequate for a first-class play. The latter build-
ing is equal to any on the coast and surpasses most of
them. It is complete in all its appointments.
OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, OUTSIDE.
Town of Berkeley — Villages of Temescal, Golden Gate, Lorin,
Emeryville, Claremont', Stock Yards, etc.
In the northern part of Oakland Township, outside
of the boundaries of the citj^ of Oakland, extending
along the bay shore to the northern boundary of the
county, is a level tract of about fifteen square miles in
extent, which is being rapidly settled up with comforta-
ble homes and suburban villages. Tiiese will in all
probability, within the ne.xt quarter of a century, or
less, be included within the citv limits of Oakland.
BERKELEY.
In the territory above mentioned, extending to the
Contra Costa line on the east and to the bay on the
west, having an area of nearly nine miles square, is the
town of Berkeley, known as the University town, as
within its borders is the University of the State of
California. The foundation of the town was laid in
the little village which sprang up immediately after the
selection of the site of the State Universit}', in 1868,
but it was not until 1878 that the town was incorpo-
rated. The growth of the University has been- the
growth of the town, so that from a few families in 1868
it now has a population of about nine thousand, and
its government is under a special charter from the
Legislature. During the past two or three years many
of the principal streets of the town have been macada-
mized their entire length, and the work of improving
others is progressing rapidly. The lines of the town
were extended toward the south and east in 1892, so
that comparatively a small territory lies between it and
Oakland. Its location for beautiful homes cannot be
excelled, and from rising ground, within the town
boundaries, are to be had splendid views of the Bay of
San Francisco, the islands, and the Golden Gate.
While the seat of the higher education — the State
University — Berkeley has also an excellent public
school system, and has beside a number of the best
preparatory schools for both sexes, including the High
School, the Berkeley gymnasium for boys, Peralta Hall,
and Miss Head's school for girls. The public schools
were organized in 1878, with Rev. Martin Kellogg, for
twenty-five \'ears a professor at the State University,
and now its honored president, as one of the leading
members of the Board of Education. " From the small
enrollment of three hundred and forty in 1879 it has
grown to upward of one thousand seven hundred in
1893. The school census shows a growth from five
hundred and fifteen in 1879 to nearly two thousand
three hundred in 1893.
The town of Berkeley has all the ad\'antage of na-
ture to make it, in a sanitary regard, a town ranking
with the best. Its hill slopes secure thorough drainage
into deep water of the ba)'. Its hills seem to be nat-
ural reservoirs filled with pure water from the distant
Sierra Nevada, and it is necessary only to drive a
tunnel to secuie an abundant supply. The Alameda
Water Company has two tunnels and reservoirs, one
behind the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the
. Blind, with a capacity of two million five hundred thou-
sand gallons, and the other above the Berryman prop-
erty, with a capacity of twenty-three million. The
town is lighted with gas supplied fiom Oakland, and
an electric light company belonging to the tow n. It
lias electric arc lights distributed all over its corpo-
rate limits. The site of East Berkeley is commanding
and healthful. It is directly opposite the Golden Gate,
and as the elevation of the University is about three
hundred feet above the waters of the bay, a magnifi-
cent panoramic view is obtained from every place
where vision is not shut off by trees. By da}' the in-
habitants look down upon the beautiful bay and its is-
lands and its kaleidoscope of moving ships. As the
day ends, they can enjoy seeing the sun set through
the Golden Gate, for the fine sunsets are one of the
scenic attractions of the place. In the evening the
view of the bay is hardly less charming than by da)-,
for the lights on the ships, the railroad piers, the is-
lands, and in San Francisco streets make an illumina-
tion as pretty as could be imagined. It is slightly
colder in winter and warmer in summer in Berkeley
than it is in Oakland, but the climate is a pleasant
one nevertheless, and the air is noticeably pure and
the public health good. For good sewerage no better
site for a city could be found in the world. The
improvement in its sewerage system is progressing
with its street improvement.
Owing to the excellent railroad facilities now en-
joyed, many business and professional men of San
Francisco and Oakland are taking up their residence
in Berkeley and the suburbs between it and Oakland, ■
erecting handsome homes with extensive grounds.
Beside the half-hourly trains of the Southern Pacific
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF aLaMEDA COUNTY.
51
Company running to East, West, and North Berkelev,
there are now three electric h'nes running- fro;n Oak-
land, running cars every ten minutes. The open
country along these lines is rapidly filling up. There
is a horse-car line running between East and West
Berkeley, and another one running to Peralta Park, in
the northern limits.
There are in Berkeley strong congregations of the
various religious denominations, with able pastors.
During the past year there has been completed, just
outside and at the entrance to the State University
grounds, a handsome brick and stone structure known
as Stiles Hall, for the use of the University Young
Men's Christian Association.
The State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and
the Blind, mentioned elsewhere in a .special article, is
within the corporate boundaries of Berkeley.
The transcontinental and State railroad lines for the
central, southern, and northern routes pass through
West Berkeley along the bay shore. It is becoming
quite a thriving manufacturing town, and'its residents
show a commendable activity in taking advantage of
the favoring situation for trade and commerce in which
they find themselves.
The population of Berkeley is between eight and
nine thousand. The assessed valuation is ,$6,000,000,
and the town tax is seventy cents on the ^100 valua-
tion. The expenses of running the town government
are about $60,000 annually. The sum of ^i 10,000 has
recently been expended for an electric plant for light-
ing the streets of the town. The school facilities being
at present inadequate, the question of voting bonds for
the erection of more schoolhouses is being agitated
by the citizens.
CLAREMONT.
.Vdjoining Berkeley on the east is the beautiful litth
villa of Claremont.
TEMESCAL.
Just outside of the city hmits of Oakland, between
It and Berkeley, and properly a continuation of Oak-
land, the streets being extended through it, is the
unincorporated suburb of Temescal, containing a pop-
ulation of between two and three thousand. Through
this suburb run the three electric roads to Berkeley.
Its prominent citizens are. agitating the question of
annexation to Oakland, and it must be only a short
tmie until it is included in the corporate boundaries of
Oakland. It was an early Spanish-American settle-
ment.
7
GOLDEN GATE AND LORIN.
On the line of the East Berkeley branch road of the
Southern Pacific and between Oakland and Berkeley
are these two suburban villages, about one mile dis-
tant from each other. Both are growing rapidly. The
former is at the end of a cable road with a half-mile
horse-car extension, and one of the electric car lines
to Berkeley runs through the latter. Efforts have been
heretofore made to consolidate these villages with
Temescal under a town incorporation. Other efforts
are being made to include them within the Oakland
city limits.
EMERYVILLE.
Outside the Oakland city limits, on the shore of the
bay, is the suburb of E neryville. Here the Judson
Works are situated, and the warehouses and work-
shops of the Michigan Furniture Factory. Shell-
mound Park, a summer picnic ground, and the Oak-
land Trotting Park are a'so adjoining this suburb.
The transcontinental, State, and Berkeley local trains
pass through. The West Berkeley train branches off
at Shell Mound Station. This is also the terminus of
the California and Nevada narrow gauge, and it is said
will be the Alameda County end of a new ferry to San
Francisco, if this road should be the terminus of a
competing transcontinental line. The ferry company
has already been incorporated.
THE STOCK YARDS.
In Oakland Township, between Oakland and West
Berkeley, on the line of the overland Central Pacific
Railway, are situated the Stock Yards, where thousands
of cattle and sheep are slaughtered for the markets of
Oakland and surrounding towns and cities, and for
San Francisco as well. There are about a dozen firms
doing a slaughtering business here, and the annual out-
put is quite large. There are annually slaughtered
about two hundred and fifty th lusand sheep, twenty-
three thousand hogs, thirty thousand beeves, and two
thou.sand five hundred calves. The annual output of
the yards is about ^1,500,000. They are situated
upon the ba)', and the refuse is cast into it and floated
off with the tide.
There are beside the slaughter houses, establish-
ments for tanning the hides, for burning the bones, for
preparing tongues', brains, and tripe for market, for re-
ducing the offlil to tallhw and glue, so that the entire
output is between $1,750,000 and $2,000,000.
FABIOLA HOSPITAL.
On Moss Avenue, between New Broadway and
Webster Avenue, is situated the Fabiola Hospital. It
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
52
was opened about three years ago as a homeopathic
institution, and is to a certain extent under the con-
trol of physicians of that school, but patients who
desire it may be treated by practitioners of any of the
other schools. The institution is not eleemosynary,
but the fees charged for attendance and rooms are
moderate, and little more than actual cost, on account
of endowments made for that purpose.
HOME FOR THE ADULT BLIND.
Just outside the city limits of Oakland is situated
the Industrial Home for Adult Blind. It occupies a
block of ground on Telegraph Avenue. It is partly sup-
ported by State aid and partly by the work turned out
by the occupants— principally brooms and brushes.
It is under the control of directors appointed b)- the
Governor of the State.
along the San Leandro road, and quite a little town is
^rowing up around the power house of this road.
At Melrose is the first smelting works for rebellious
ores and there is now in operation a smaller smelting
works for extracting quicksilver. There are also in
operation at the suburb three factories for the manu-
facture of fuse for use in mining and rock quarrying.
A cordage works for the manufacture of rope is at the
present time idle.
In the hills in this township, overlooking Oakland,
are the residence and grounds of the "Poet of the Sier-
ras," Joaquin Miller.
OLD LADIES' HOME.
On Linden Lane, between Broadway and Telegraph
Avenue, Temescal, is the Home for Old Ladies,
founded by the Oakland Ladies' Relief Society. It
receives some State aid and has an income from cer-
tain endowments made by will by different persons.
A certain sura is required from the friends of inmates
annually during life. The institution is well con-
ducted. There is also a department for the care of
orphan children.
BROOKLYN TOWNSHIP, OUTSIDE.
On the eastern boundary of the city of Oakland lies
a considerable strip of territory in Brooklyn Township,
about one-third of the township being in the city
limits and the remainder outside. Ver^- much of this
outside district is covered with suburban homes clear
to the Eden Township line on the east and south and
Alameda on the west.
The line between Oakland and Fruitvale is similar
to that between Oakland and Temescal on the north-
east. There are houses standing on the line between
the city and county. It is said the number on one
house is in the county while the greater part of the
building is in the city. Some of the handsomest
houses and grounds in Alameda County are in the
suburb of Fruitvale, and Fruitvale Avenue, with its
rows of shade trees on either side and fruit orchards
and flower gardens, is considered a very handsome
summer drive.
Beyond Fruitvale are Melrose, Mills College, Elm-
. hurst and other growing suburbs. Since the opening of
the electric street railroad to San Leandro and Hay-
ward in 1892, numerous residences have been erected
CHAPTER VIII.
ALAMEDA CITY AND TOWNSHIP.
A City of Elegant Homes, Handsome Drives and Healthful
Climate-One of the Best Sanitary Systems in the World-
Sewers Automatically Flushed Every Four Hours— One of
the Healthiest Cities in the United States.
Across the tstuary of San Antonio from Oakland,
on what is at present a peninsula lying between the
estuary and the Bay of San Francisco, lies the city and
township of Alameda The setdement of the penin-
sula of Alameda dates back to about the saine time
as that of Oakland, but its growth has been much
slower until within the past five years. It now claims
a population of between thirteen thousand and fourteen
thousand, and is rapidly increasing. It has the same
railroad advantages as Oakland, i. c, fifteen-minute
trips with interchangeable tickets bj- broad or narrow-
gauge ferry to San Francisco. Both roads run through
the entire length of the city, about half a mile apart,
with several stations on each. No fares are collected
within the city limits or between stations, the railroad
company treating tiie residents of Alameda the same
as those of Oakland. The fare to San Francisco by
way of either the broad or narrow-gauge ferry routes
is twenty-five cents return trip, and commutations $3 00
per month, using either or both routes, interchange-
ably, if desired.
The governinent of the city is intrusted to a Board
of City Trustees. There is no Mayor or Common
Council, or Board of Public Works, but the other
officers are similar to those of towns of the fifth class.
There is a Board of Education, Board of Health and
sanitary officers, and Board of Library Trustees. The
duties of Police Magistrate are performed by the City
Recorder, and the City Marshal acts as Chief of Police
and has ten officers under him.
The public schools of Alameda are equal to those
of any other city in the State. They are under the
supervision of the City Superintendent of Schools.
in
LlJ
Q-
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
53
There is an efficient Fire Department, under proper
officers.
The city owns its electric hght plant, and has lights
on poles or towers in every part of the city, being one
of the best-lighted cities on the Pacific Coast.
Its sewer system is claimed to be the best of any
city in the United States, and has automatic sewer
flushers, by which every sewer is flushed every four
hours, and the sewage carried away. The system is
a new one, and is being urged now in other cities.
East and West. The sewer system consists, in the
first place, of two intercepting sewers, one on each
side of the peninsula. It must be understood, by
those not familiar with the lay of the land, that Ala-
meda is a long peninsula, entirely devoid of hills, the
highest altitude being along its center, and the land
sloping gently each way. On the south side is the
Bay of San Francisco, and on the north side Oakland
Harbor and the tidal canal. The natural way to
sewer the city is from the center to the edges ; but it
was found it would never do to dischsirge sewage from
every street upon the sand beaches and shores of the
cit)^ Returning tides would fetch it back, and the
odors would always remain. So the scheme of in-
tercepting sewers along the edges of the town was
devised. They receive the sewage from the many
lateral sewers, and discharge it all together in such a
manner that it is carried out on every tide and assim-
ilated by the great body of salt water. The pipe of
the lateral sewers is of iron stone, and the diameter is
four, si.x, and eight inches. The pipe has a bell at one
end, so that the plain end of its predecessor fits in.
The joint is then caulked and cemented, the cement
being applied with the fingers, so that a water-tight
joint is made. The lateral sewers are all flushed
several times a day automatically. At the highest
point of these sewers flush tanks, built upon the line of
the sidewalks, connect with them. These flush tanks
are filled from the water mains, and when they get
full, their center of gravity is so shifted that they tip,
spilling the water in a volume, and then righting
themselves for another filling. Being thus so admi-
rably drained, having no such thing as sewer gi s, and
having no stagnant ponds or marshes to germinate
disease, it is not the least wonder that Alameda is
healthful, that its death rate is lower than that of any
other town or city on the coast, and that it should
enjoy a fame reaching across the continent, and which
is still spreading.
ARTESIAN WATER SUPPLY.
The city is supplied- with artesian water from a
series of wells at Fitghburg, two miles to the east of
town, and another series on High Street, in the easterly
portion of the city. The water is raised and distribu-
ted by the Holly system. It has so far been ample
for all the city's needs, and is always absolutely pure.
Alameda's entire freedom from epidemics, and its
reasonable immunity from even sporadic cases of m-
fectious diseases, constitute abundant testimony as to
the purity of its water supply. The fact that the
source can never be contaminated, and that the quan-
tity for a year is never contingent upon the amount of
rainfall or any other condition that may produce a
shortage, are great factors in favor of the city and
inducements to those seeking homes. Many of the
inhabitants have their own artesian wells, preferring
to be independent, and also, if they are extensive con-
sumers, saving money by it. There seems to be an
abundance of subterranean water, and any who desire
to tap it may set up their own water works. The
streets of Alameda, in summer time, are daily sprinkled
with fresh water. They are kept in excellent con-
dition ; but an experiment was made last year, on
certain stretches of the roadways, with salt water, and
the result was eminently satisfactory. Less water laid
the dust more effectually, effecting a great saving in
expense for the water and the distribution of it, be-
sides keeping down the dust much better. A system
of pipes to supply salt water, not only for street
sprinkling, but for the extinguishment of fires and the
flushing of sewers, is now talked of, is in eveiy way
practicable and desirable, and will no doubt some day
be put in.
The assessed valuation of the city and township
for the purposes of taxation, real and personal prop-
erty, is $i 1,796,565. The total tax rate for 1892-93
was $1.95, of which 80 cents was for State and county
purposes.
Aside from the two steam railroads running every
half hour between Alameda and Oakland, there has
been a horse-car line running for years making the
trip between Broadway and Seventh Streets, Oak-
land, and Santa Clara and Park Streets, Alameda,
makingthe trip in about half an hour. This line has
been transformed into an electric line and runs a
branch line, also transformed from horses, from the
narrow-gauge depot on Park Street across to Twelfth
Street and Twenty-third Avenue, Oakland, connecting
with the Oakland local trains at that point.
Alameda is a city of beautiful homes and finely ma-
cadamized streets and handsome drives. Many busi-
ness men of San Francisco make their home in this
city, being within an hour's ride by train and ferry-
boat. -
At Alameda Point on the estuary the ship-building
54
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
industry is being developed There are a number of
shipyards, where a large number of boats are made
each year, ranging from the sporting shell boats to
barkentines of one thousand tons. One firm uses
twenty thousand to twenty-two thousand feet of lum-
ber annually in buildingsmall boats, principally whale-
boats, and repairs from fifty to sixty whalebpats. One
firm makes a specialty of shell boats for racing.
At the west end of Alameda, on the bay shore, are
situated the borax refining works, the extensive pe-
troleum oil refining works and the pottery works of
Clark & Sons, mentioned elsewhere in detail. There
are also a number of planing and other mills and
manufactories in this city.
The roundhouses of the South Pacific Coa.st Rail-
way (narrow gauge) are at Alameda Point. *
CHAPTER IX.
EDEN TOWNSHIP.
A Very Fertile Alluvial Tract of Land that was a Cattle Pasture
four Decades Ago, Now the Garden of the County— More
Cherries Sent to Eastern Markets than from Remainder of
California— Other Fruits and Vegetables in Large Quan-
tities.
Adjoining Brooklyn on the south is Eden Township.
In the earlier history of the county its territory was
principally used for pasturage for cattle. The chief
products were cereals, but during the past ten years
the greater portion has been transferred to horticul-
ture and vegetables. From Eden Townshipare shipped
to the Eastern States more cherries than from the re-
mainder of the State. Here also are raised large
quantities of vegetables for the local markets. The
mission fathers in the earlier days chose the land far-
ther to the south, near the Alameda Creek, for the
establishment of their missions. The first settlement
of English speaking people was made by the Furgu-
sons, a Scotch family, who secured from the Spanish
grantees a square mile of fertile land upon the alluvial
plain. George Fleming, the late Judge Crane, John
Martin, and Cornelius Mohr speedily followed, and
in 1851 Richard Barron built Eden landing. Matthew
H Allen built a second landing on Calf Creek and in a
few months more Joel Russell and twenty associates
built a third on the same waterway. In 1853 the
united efforts of the settlers built what was known as
the "squatter fence," which, e.xtending from Mount
Eden across the plaih and well up the slope of the
foothills, was designed to protect the farms from the
incursions of mobs of cattle roaming half wild through
the country. In 1858 .San Leandro, in this township,
was made the county seat of the county, and so re-
mained till 1873. The territory now embraced in the
township boundaries formed part of the ranchos of
the Sotos, Peraltas, Vallejos, Castros, and Estudillos.
When compared witli other parts of the State, and
with other townships of the county, the subdivision
has been minute and the number of small holdings
large. Many Portuguese, from Portugal and the
Western islands, have taken advantage of this policy on
the part of the holders of large blocks of land, and
have small farms closely cultivated all over the plain
and in the rich valleys that run up into the hills.
In 1842 that portion of the township now covered
by the city of San Leandro, recently incorporated as a
city of the fifth class, was granted by the Mexican
Governor to Don Jose E.studillo, whose mansion house
erected in 1850 is still standing. Most of his lands
came into the possession of Theodore Le Roy upon
the death of the original grantee and were cut up and
sold. So rapid from 1850 was the growth of settle-
ment on these lands that within five years San Lean-
dro had become the most important town in the
county. The Legislature oh the 13th of May, 1S72,
granted the petition of the citizens and incorporateil
the town, establishing its width at one niiile toward the
south, measured from San Leandro Creek, and its
depth at two miles toward the west, from the foot of
the hills. The center of the town is eight and one-
fourth miles southerly from the Oakland Cit)- Hall.
San Leandro has always presented many attractions
as a place of suburban residence, being less than an
hour by rail from San Francisco, witii eight trains
each way every day. Fourteen miles of streets have
been graded and macadamized and many fine resi-
dences have been erected. The population is esti-
matedattwenty-fivehundred. There hadbeen forthree
years prior to 1886 no town tax, the expen.ses having
been met by the amount received from licenses paid
by various trades upon a sliding scale. In 1886 a
levy of twenty cents on the $100 was made for the"
benefit of the road fund. A volunteer fire department
of forty members is an active organization. There
are two hose carts and one thousand five hundred
feet of hose. The water supply is drawn from Lake
Chabot. The hydrants are within two blocks of each
other and the pressure is sufficient to throw an inch
stream one hundred and forty-seven and one-half feet
without an engine. The public school of the town
contains eight rooms and accommodates over five hun-
dred children, who are in daily attendance. Saint
Mary's Convent has a school in which two hundred
pupils are carefully taught. There are three churches,
the Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian, and
mission work among the Portuguese is conducted by a
PLATE 26
CONCANNON VINEYARD" and RES OF J AMES CONCAN NON , LIVERMQRE CAL.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
55
priest of that nationality and a Presbyterian mis-
sionar}'.
The Oalvland, San Leandro and Hayward Electric
Railway runs half-hourly trains from Oakland through
San Leandro and San Lorenzo to Hayward, all in this
township. The latter town is about five miles farther
out from Oakland. San Lorenzo, a small village, lies
between San Leandro and Hayward. In and around
San Lorenzo is the belt in which large quantities of
cherries are grown, as well as other fine fruits, such as
apricots, pears and peaches. As early as 1854 an at-
tempt was made to create a township at this place,
mainly with a view of securing the county seat on the
' score of its central location. A map of the town of
San Lorenzo, which name covered the whole district
embraced by Hayward and the present San Lorenzo,
was placed on record in that year, but the project was
heartily opposed by Castro, who owned almost all the
land thereabouts. In 1856, however, Castro read-
justed the map already on file and sold the town lots
at good prices, the new town taking the name of Wil-
liam Hayward, who in 1852 had settled upon the
Castro grant. Hayward now numbers some two
thousand inhabitants. It has two large hotels, churches
of the Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Congrega-
tional denominations. Union High School No. 3 is
located at Hayward. It is also in the center of a large
fruit and farming district, and in the hands of its mer-
chants is concentrated a large part of the trade of the
valley.
Within the limits of Eden Township grow all kinds
of vegetables, fruits, berries, and cereals of every va-
riety. It is peculiarly the home of the cherry and
apricot. Both can be produced with great profit —
sometimes with a profit of ^500 to $600 per acre, and
in one or two instances has reached $ i ,000 per acre,
but that was when the prices were very high and the
crop large, and before there was so much land set to
this kind of fruit. A fair average to-day, however,
would be ;^250 per acre, while .several kinds of vege-
tables, when raised for. the market, will give a still
higher average. For productiveness the soil in this
township ranks with the veiy best in the State. The
citrus fruits, as well as the others, make a thrifty
growth there. There are no orchards of those fruits,
but in many of the gardens and in the lawns and
grounds around the residences are beautiful full-grown
orange and lemon trees that make the finest of orna-
mental trees, and at the same time bear the finest of
fruit. A specimen of the Mediterranean sweet variety
of oranges grown on a seven-year- old tree in an or-
chard of San Leandro, where it stands among its fellow
fruit trees of the cherry, apricot, etc., varieties, as vig-
orous and thrifty as any of them, is now lying on the
table of the writer. The fruit from this tree is large
and has a delicious flavor.
In the yard of a residence in San Leandro stands a
magnificent banana tree. The banana is one of the
most sensitive of the tropical trees^ and its long, ele-
gant leaves sometimes get nipped with the cold, but,
notwithstanding this, it seems to be making its way to
a healthy maturity.
Almond trees are so common in Eden Township
that they are grown along the sidewalks as shade trees
in San Leandro, Hayward and San Lorenzo.
At San Lorenzo is the Meek estate orchard of seven
hundred acres of trees. This may seem incredible,
but nevertheless it is true. There are in one body
seven hundred acres of fruit trees, and not only that,
but among these trees are five hundred acres of small
fruits, such as currants, gooseberries, raspberries, etc.,
making an immense orchard and a large output of
fruits of all kinds annually.
THE COUNTY FARM.
In Eden Township, between San Leandro and Hay-
ward, at the base of the foothills, is located the county
Farm and Hospital and Infirmary. This institution is
in charge of the Board of Supervisors of the county,
who are overseers of the poor, as well as the legisla-
tive body of the county. The immediate supervision
is under a resident superintendent, who is usually a
physician. The buildings are generally full, and some-
times there is not room enough for applicants. The
number at the farm ranges from one hundred seventy-
five to three hundred.
OYSTER BEDS.
For many years after the settlement of California,
and, indeed, until very recently, fresh oysters, es-
pecially those in the shell, were a rare luxury, and,
prior to the building of the Central Pacific Railroad,
comparatively unknown, and, with the exception of a
few of very small size and indifferent flavor from Shoal-
water Bay, Oregon, since that time until ten or a dozen
years ago they were the only shell bivalves used in
California, except during the winter months, but the
advent of the "cold storage" cars made the shipments
easier. However, in a few more years it will be en-
tirely unnecessary for the shipment of oysters into
California from the East, for the reason that the home
supply will be sufficient for the demand. For the
present the only oyster beds of any consequence found
in the State are along the shoreg of the Bay of San
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
Francisco, in Alameda and San Mateo Counties. In
the year 1879 the Legislature of the State passed an
Act for the encouragement of the industry, providing
for the taking up of shoal water beds along the bay
shores. Under this Act Thomas W. Mulford, Socrates
Huff and Andrew J. Gooch entered about thirty-five
thousand acres on the Alameda County shore, about
two miles west of the town of San Leandro. These
beds are two and a half miles along the shore, by two
miles into the bay. During the lowest tides a large
portion of these beds is uncovered. When Messrs.
Mulford, Huff and Gooch entered these beds, there
were nothing but small California oysters in them, un-
fit for use. They transplanted a few Eastern oysters,
and allowed them to increase until the winter of 1891-
92, when they commenced to market from the beds,
shipping to Oakland and San Francisco, where they
get $12.50 per thousand in the shell. Up to this
spring this company has cleared about §[0,0D0.
They only gather sufficient to supply the local de-
mand. These oysters are equal in size and flavor to
the Eastern oyster. Beside these beds, the Morgan
Oyster Company, of San Francisco, own large beds
along the Alameda shore on the south, and several
other gentlemen own small beds along the shore north
of Mulford and associates.
CHAPTER X.
MURRAY TOWNSHIP.
An Extensive Wine Growing District— Wine Equal to the
Best French Product — Grapes of the Finest European Va-
rieties Only Grown — Fruit and Nuts — Hundreds of Acres in
Almonds — Irrigation Unnecessary.
Of Alameda County the eastern half is in Murray
Township, which has an area of four hundred square
miles. About one-third of it is mountainous or hilly,
and two-thirds arable land. About one-half of the
tillable area is inclined to be adobe soil, and is welj
adapted for the production of cereals and hay. The
otherhalf is composed of allu\'ial loams, which produce
vegetables in abundance that find a ready sale in the
markets of San Francisco and Oakland, and in clayey
and gravelly loams adapted to various varieties of
fruit and all kinds of grapevines.
In this township are broad valleys, rolling foothills,
and precipitous mountains. It contains prototypes of
the vine lands of France, the olive lands of Spain, the
fig lands of Smyrna.and the fertile bottom lands of
Holland, without the dykes. The flavors of the wines
of this township and other townships .of Alameda
County are unexcelled anywhere in the State, and are
believed to be equal to the best importations from
Europe. With reference to the wine industry of the
township it ma)' be said that it was at first an experi-
ment, because it was at first believed the lack of mois-
ture by rainfall would not allow the grapes to mature.
This was dispelled by e.xperience, and it was shown
by cultivation that the driest soils would maintain
moisture during the summer season within a few
inches of the surface, even in the driest years. These
were lands similar, then, to the famous wine lands of
Bordeaux and Burgundy in France. When this was
demonstrated by experiment, a number of men, includ-
ing Julius P. Smith, C. A. and C. J. Wetmore, J. H.
Wheeler, and the late Dr. George Bernard, about 1881,
invested in a district now comprising something over
five thousand acres of what was then known as th^
poorest land in the Livermore Valley, in this town-
ship— land upon which grain had made poor growth
and yield. Upon this land the vine flourished. In
1883 the first yield of grapes was handled by one
winery, but it now requires fourteen to handle the
output, which has grown from a few hundred gallons
to nearly five hundred thousand gallons. Only the
highest of the European wine grapes have been
planted. The following are some of the varieties
grown in this district : Zinfandel, .Sauvignon Vert,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvoisie,
Muscatine du Bordulais, Malbec, Franken Riesling,
Colombar, Mataro, Charbono, Folle Blanche, Petite
Pinot, Petite Rouschet, Semillon, Johannesberg Ries-
ling, Grenache, Petite Syrah, Frontignan, Chauche
Noir, Gro.ssen Blauer, Tros.seau, Burger, Cabernet
Franc, Golden Chasselas, Gutedel, Meunier, Merlot,
Mondeu.se, Chablis, Alicante Bouschet, Verdot, Blanc
Pllba, Tannat, Orleans Riesling, Gray Riesling, Boal,
Folle Noir, Rose Peru, Verdal. The most prominent
varieties grown are the Zinfandel, and the largest out-
put of wine is of that variety. At a recent meeting of
a convention of California viticulturists a committee
of fifteen experts .selected twenty-nine "extra" types
of wine from three hundred and seventy-five samples,
and of these twenty-nine, fifteen were from Alameda
County vintages, showing the high grade of its
products. Adjoining this wine district of five thou-
sand acres are still one hundred thousand acres equally
as well adapted for vines. There is now produced
in Murray Township every European grape distin-
o-uished for the quality of its wine, and the vintages of
the Livermore Valley have taken the lead of all others
in California. Vineyards are produced in this district
from the cuttings, and begin to bear in the third or
fourth year, according to the variety, and are in full
bearing in the seventh orerghth years.. The. cost of
vine land is from .S40 to ^90 per acre, and the relative
cost of the vineyard— setting out the vines, care, etc.,
PLATE 27
RESIDENCE OF JAMES SHINN,NILES CAL.
COUNTRY HOME OF LQRING PICKERING .NILES , CAL
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
57
until self-supporting — is from $50 to $100 additional
per acre. Twenty acres of vine land in full bearing
will support a family comfortably. The product is
from three to six tons per acre, being rather as to
quality than quantity. The prices per ton for the
commoi'i varieties range from $12 to ;$20, and for the
higher grades of Bordeaux and Sauterne from $40
to ;S50. Estimating at the.se figures, a vineyard in full
bearing will net from ^lOO to ^200 per acre. No irri-
gation is necessary in this district even in the driest
seasons, as moist soil is found within four inches of
the surface after a lapse of five months after the last
spring rains. It is claimed that no variety of wine,
raisin, or table grape now grown in the Livermore
Valley can be produced in any part of the United
States east of tlie Rocky Mountains.
The growth of grapes and production of wine is
only one of the industries of this township. A few
years after the setting out of the first vineyards, A. T.
Hatch, a large fruit grower of Solano County, made
an examination of the soil and the climatic conditions,
and, being satisfied of the adaptability of both to the
production of certain varieties, purchased several hun-
dred acres of land in the Livermore Valley. He, in
conjunction with several other gentlemen, planted
several hundred acres of almonds, and the remain-
der in French prunes, Bartlett pears, and other fruits.
These are now in beariiig and produce M'ell.
A peach orchard on the Cresta Blanca ranch of C. A.
Wetmore, of seven acres^ in the fifth year after plant-
ing, produced forty-two tons of fruit, and the brand of
Chateau Yquem wine (Sauterne) from the same farm
took the gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1 889,
the judges being unable to detect any difference be-
tween it and the best French wine of the same brand.
It was also awarded the premium at the recent Me-
chanics' Institute Fair.
Apricots and prunes in this township also produce
well and it is a question whether or not they may not
prove as acceptable and profitable a crop as the high
type wine grapes, for the reason that there is less de-
lay in receiving returns and less output necessary in
marketing them.
The principal towns in the township are Livermore
and Pleasanton. The former is an incorporated town
and has gained in population three to four hundred per
cent in the past ten years, and its taxable property has
increased in value from ^250,500 in 1882 to ^620,000
in 1893. It has a sprightly newspaper, the various
religious and fraternal societies, etc. At Pleasanton
is the stock farm of the late Count Guilio Valensin,
where several famous racing horses were raised and
trained. The hops grown in and around Pleasanton
are the finest grown on the coast.
The total valuation of the two hundred and thirty-
three thousand seven hundred and forty-five acres
in this township in 1882 was $3,163,965; in 1892 it
was ^6,189.670.
There are to be found in the township coal, mag-
nesia, manganese, manganite, chrome and mineral
paint, but they have not as yet been developed. A
shaft has been sunk for a coal mine, though the taking
coal in any quantities has not yet been carried cut by
the owner. Crude oil has also been found, and indi-
cations of petroleum oil and natural gas were dis-
covered recently, and there is an intention of organiz-
ing a company to prosecute the search for natural gas
so as to supply another illuminating and heat product
for Oakland and San Francisco. The nearest natural
gas so far in use is across the Contra Costa Range at
Stockton, in San Joaquin County.
CHAPTER XL
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Its Location, Products — Agricultural, Horticultural, Viticul-
tural — Natural Advantages, etc.
The township of Washington is in the southwestern
corner of the county. It is the second in size in the
county, containing an area of eighty-eight thousand
eight hundred and thirty-eight acres, and is about
tweh'e miles wide by thiitcen in length. It is a level
alluvial plain, bounded westerly by the shore of San
Francisco Bay, on the east by the foothills; on the
westerly border are salt marshes, embracing many
acres, but many of these marshy tracts are gradually
filling up and are only overflowed by the highest tides,
while others would require only a small dyke to be
secure at all times from tidal overflow. There are now
between thirty thousand and thirty-five thousand acres
of this marsh land. A great portion of this can be
reclaimed. About thirty thousand acres of the re-
maining land is under cultivation.
In this township was the original settlement of the
mission fathers years ago, and the cultivation of the
soil at Mission San Jose. It isincreasing year by year in
valuation. In 1882 the total valuation of the entire
township was $4,175,402. This has inci'eased in the
ten years to $5,289,999, or upward of $100,000 per
year.
One remarkable thing in this township is a belt
about three miles broad by twelve long where there
are no frosts during the coldest winters. This is true
of no other part of the county. There is very little
5'
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
frost anywhere in the county, but in the section
mentioned there is none, and the orange, lemon, oHve,
magnolia, camellia and other semi-tropical fruits and
flowers grow out-of-doors. The old Mission of San
Jose, where the Spanish missions were first established,
is in this township and in this warm belt. It begins
at about two hundred feet altitude and its bounds are
very plainly defined. It extends a little way into the
valley and back upon the foothills. The choicest
vineyards and orchards at Niles are in this favored
belt, where almonds bear as in only a few other spots
in the State, and where oranges, lemons, the date palm,
bananas and other semi-tropic growths are to be seen.
From Niles along the foothills to Mission San Jose
and Warm Springs the climate is much the same. At
points there is more wind; some are more sheltered;
some appreciably warmer than others, but, all in all,
this thermal belt of southern Alameda County will
safely bear comparison with the best portions of
counties much further south.
The alluvium of this township is broader in extent
and of greater depth than anywhere else about the
bay. It is, in general, a rich black loam, which is
found to rest upon a substratum of gravel and sand
at a depth of from six to thirty feet, which latter depth
is found at Niles. From the presence of this, layer of
gravel a natural system of subsoil drainage is main-
tained of such excellence that the soil may be turned
up from any depth and yet be found always moist
without being saturated. As the ascent is made
toward the foothills, the alluvium is gradually left be-
hind, and in its place is found a soil lighter in color,
somewhat gravelly and dry, but in the main fertile,
and especially valuable for fruits. Across the north-
ern portion of the township runs the Alameda
Creek. Its eastern boundary is found in the bed of
the Calaveras Creek. These, with a number of
sloughs upon the bay shore, the well-known Mission
Creek, the several more or less permanent brooks of
the mountains, are the water courses of the township.
This township justly claims among its valued achieve-
ments the possession of a fruit belt of unusual extent,
variety and value, the first establishment on a pay-
ing basis of the sugar beet industry of California,
which has grown into one of our most valuable indus-
tries, and the possession of a famous wine district,
second to none in the State. Nurseries among the
largest in California have been established on Alameda
Creelc, near Niles. In a few years Niles, Decoto,
Centerville and the Mission San Jose will be known
as among the heaviest shippers of deciduous fruits,
table grapes, wines, nuts, dried and canned fruits.
The whole region, for miles, is destined to become one
vast orchard, and the hill slopes one continuous vine-
}-ard.
The wine industry of Washington Township, great
as it is, has only just made a fair beginning, and yet
the assessment roll of the township shows one hun-
dred acres in table grapes and raisins, and two thou-
sand two hundred acres in wine grapes, each acre
yielding from two to seven tons of grapes. It has
been estimated by careful obser\-ers that this one
township has two million one hundred and fifty-five
thousand vines, producing about four hundred thou-
sand gallons of wine each year. The chief \iiie\ard-
ists and wine makers in this, one of the riciiest wine
districts of California, are Josiah Stanford and John
L. Beard at the Warm Springs, and Jluui Gal legos
and Chas. C. Mclvor at the Mission San Jnsc.
Warm Springs was at one time a notetl sanitarium,
but, with a change in the ownership of the property,
it was diverted to other uses. Yet if at any time it
should be deemed advisable by the present owner of
the property to develop its resources in this direction,
there will not be found a place in the country which
could offer superior advantages. Situated in the
heart of the strange thermal belt, with its equable cli-
mate, and abundantly supplied with invigorating and
tonic mineral waters, it might be made a very Caiifor-
nian Ems.
One of the chief evidences of tlie value of Washing-
ton Township fruit lands is the disinclination of the own-
ers to part with them. Very little land is for sale in the
region, and }'et it is being improved and is mostly in
small holdings already. Washington Township has
also a large acreage in vegetable land, along the
creeks and bay, second in quality to none in tlie State.
On the warm hills land, rated only a few years ago as
cheap pasture land, worth only $20 per acre, rents for
over half that per year for early vegetables, such as
peas and potatoes. The line of cultivation is rapidh'
extending into the foothills, and another generation
will discover that of the more than thirty thousand
acres now rated as untillable, hardly ten thousand are
really so. Another extension of the line is toward the
marshes. Reclamation plans now under way will
soon bring into cultivation thousands of acres of
boundless fertility, now subject to tidal overflow.
The township is traversed by two railways, both
under control of the Southern Pacific Company. The
narrow-gauge road skirts the marshes and passes
through the western part of the township. The broad
guage skirts the hills some miles to the eastward.
The principal villages on the line of the narrow-gauge
railroad are Alvarado, the former county seat, and
Newark, where are the shops of the Southern Pacific
PLATE 28
PA<?IFIC C0/i5T OIL <?0|>1PANV5 ReplN^RY, AiAf^LDA POINT QA'A GEfJ OFFICe 13 PINE 51 5AM FPAM<5lS<;0
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
59
Coast Railroad. Decoto, Niles, and Irvington are the
most considerable places upon the broad-gauge road.
Centerville and the Mission San Jose are the centers
of much trade, and are thriving towns, though not
upon any railroad line.
At Irvington, in this township, is the immense
winery erected some years ago by Juan Gallegos.
In this vicinity, and that of Mission San Jose, are a few
orange orchards, where as fine navel oranges and seed-
lings are grown as anywhere else in the State, not ex-
cepting the southern part or the northern citrus belt.
In the vicinity of Niles the same is true, and at this
point also are grown fine cherries and all the various
varieties of almonds to perfection. A great deal of
fruit from the lower end of this township and from
about Niles goes each season to the canneries and
drying establishments at San Jose. Considerable
quantities of fruit are sun dried in this vicinity, and it
is a fact that about three hundred tons of dried fruit
were shipped from Niles during the season of 1893.
Description of Illustrations.
Below is an explanation of the scenes represented by plates, not mentioned in general matter.
Plate No. 2. — Situated upon the shore of Lake Mer-
ritt, stands the residence and beautiful surroundings
of M. W. Murry. The house was built several years
ago, before the influx of modern arcliitecture with its
many fanciful designs was inaugurated. The build-
ings are very substantially constructed of wood. The
finest of the woodwork inside the house is of solid
black walnut. The walls and ceilings of the house
and billiard room are beautifully and richly frescoed.
The grounds contain many of the choicest trees and
flowers; a large and artistic fountain stands in the
yard; in other parts of the grounds stand many pieces
of artistic statuary, making one of the most attractii'e
homes in the city.
Plate No. J. — Represents Ruby Hill vineyard.
Ruby Hill is an estate consisting of four hundred fifty
acres situated in the most favored part of the celebrated
Livermore Valley, forty miles from San Francisco.
It is the property of J. Crellin & 'Sons, and was espe-
cially selected as a site for a vineyard to be devoted to
the highest qualities of French wine types, — Sauternes,
Medocs, and Burgundies. Two hundred and fifty
acres are now in full bearing, all of which are of the
choicest imported varieties. A large and complete
winery and distillery is in full operation, where the
choicest wines and brandies of three vintages are ma-
turing continually.
The situation of this property is one of the most
picturesque, and the quality of the soil, being gravelly
alluvium from cretaceous and calcareous hills, is a
guaranty of the high promise of future vintages.
The following wines can be obtained in glass or
bulk: Haut Sauterne, Sauterne, Riesling, Burger,
Cabernet, Burgundy, Zinfandel, and brandy.
Post office address, J. Crellin & Sons, Pleasanton,
California.
Plate No. ^. — Represents the home of E.x-Governor
Geo. C. Perkins, one of the representative men of Cal-
ifornia, who is agent and owner in company (Goodall,
Perkins & Co.) of several lines of steamships, running
from San Francisco to Los Angeles, San Diego, and
Mexico, up the coast to Oregon and Washington, also
to Alaska.
This residence is beautifully located on "Vernon
Heights," elevated sufficiently to give a fine view of
the bay and surrounding scenery. It is on the line of
Piedmont Cable Railroad, fronting south on Oakland
Avenue, occupying the entire frontage of the block
from Vernon Avenue to Orange Street. North one-
half block the outside of the grounds along the walks
are planted Australian palms, inside the grounds by
the walks and drives and on the lawn and flower gar-
dens are various kinds of trees and flowers, including
the fan palms, pampas grass in dress plumes, which
resemble large white feathers. On the right of the
residence is a large and ornamental conservatory, filled
with the choicest of flowers and plants.
The residence itself is of modern architecture, orna-
mental as well as substantially built.
Plate No. 5. — Near the village of San Leandro is the
home of F. S. Hastings, only six acres, but on this
small farm there is a richness and variety of fruit
that is delightful to behold. The house and outbuild-
ings are built of wood. The house is square, rather
ornamental, and contains a large, cool basement. In
front, along the road, is a row of large pepper trees.
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
Plate No. 6. — Situated right in the heart of the city
of Oakland, at Twenty-fifth Street and Telegraph Ave-
nue, is the palatial home of J. M. Merrell. Thegrounds
occupy one block on Telegraph Avenue, from Twent}--
fifth to Twenty-sixth Street, west about six hundred
feet. The residence itself is a very ornamental piece
of architecture of wood, is large, roomy, and spacious,
with verandas, conservatoiy, etc. The grounds are
among the largest of city gardens, and are set with all
the different varieties of trees, plants, and flowers,
peculiar to this' and foreign climates. Upon three sides
of these spacious grounds is a substantial iron fence,
which adds greatly to the general appearance of the
place. Outside the grounds and walks are trees, and,
although the)- are quite shad}- and conspicuous, the_\-
are only three years old. While this picture gi\es a
good idea of the house, grounds, walks, etc., it em-
braces a good deal more. Upon the adjoining block
all of the buildings are represented. Back of these in a
general way is seen a good portion of the citj' of Oak-
land. Still further in the background is seen the ba\'
and city of San Francisco, and the Golden Gate en-
trance to the harbor, also several islands in the bay.
To the right in the distance are the hills of Marin
Count}-; the highest point is Mt. Tamalpias.
Plate No. 7. — On East Oakland Heights, looking
toward Oakland and San Francisco, are the home and
beautiful grounds of Hon. H. G. Blasdel. Mr. Blasdel
has been a resident of California several years, but in
the early history of the State of Nevada he \vas twice
elected governor of that State. It is on the line of the
Twenty-third Avenue electric railroad. The grounds
are elevated, and from all* points, especially from the
second story of the residence, is a fine view of the bay
looking west, and also of the hills and valley to the
south and east. The residence is a large square frame
building, relieved with commodious verandas, bay win-
dows,etc. It is two stories above the basement, finished
with all modern improvements, making a most attract-
ive and beautiful home. The picture nOt only shows
the land comprising the homestead, but considerable
more. Surrounding this are a large number of lots
that are most desirable for residences, being situated
so near rapid transit railroads. They are for sale on
very easy terms.
Plate No. S. — Represents Edwin Whipple's res-
idence.
RESIDENCE OF JOHN C. WHIPPLE, ESQ.
Plate No. p. — The residence of J. C. Whipple is sit-
uated on his farm of 400 acres in Washington Town-
ship, one mile from the town of Decoto. Mr.
Whiople's farm and the land in the vicinit}' are among
the finest in the county, the soil being ver}- rich,
yielding forty bushels of barley to the acre. It will
also produce fifteen tons of sugar beets per acre.
The land in this localit}- is valued at three hundred
dollars per acre and pa}-s a profit of three per cent on
the investment. Mr. Whipple has a herd of fifty short-
horn Durham cattle, also a large number of work and
stock horses. He is also interested, with his brother,
Edwin Whipple, in several hundred acres of land about
a mile distant. He is a pioneer Californian, coming to
the State earl}- in the 50's. He is well known
throughout the count}- and State.
Plate No. 10. — Is a \'iew, looking east, of Castro
\^alle\-, which is known as a ver}- fertile section of
Alameda Count}-. This valley is so sheltered b}- sur-
rounding hills that tropical fruits are grown here suc-
cessful!}-. Some of the finest lemons and oranges
produced here are the best specimens the county
affords. The foreground of the plate represents the
home of J. H. Strobridge, situated in Eden Township,
about one and one-half miles east of the town of Hay-
ward, known as the Laurel Ranch. The farm consists
of two hundred twenty acres. Mr. Strobridge also has
some veiy fine blooded horses and gives considerable
attention to stock raising.
Plate No. 12. — Represents the orchards of E. S.
Denison, situated at Niles. The upper view is an
almond orchard of 20 acres; the trees are all young,
but a good many are bearing fruit. The other view
shows an orchard of a variety of fruit trees consisting
of cherries, apricots, pears, peaches, plums, apples, etc.;
it contains about 1 5 acres. Although these orchards
are not very e.xtensive, the fruit is of a choice variety
and yields very abundantly, nestling under the foot-
hills at Niles, making a variety of scenery in mountain
and valley that is delightful to look upon. Mr. Den-
ison resides in Oakland. He makes fruit raising a
part of his otherwise busy life.
_Plate No. i^. — Represents the home of Charles
Nelson. This beautiful spot is situated about two
miles east of Oakland on Seminar}' Avenue. This
avenue runs from the county road to Mills Seminary.
It is near the hills, and in fact a part of the grounds
are a little rolling. From the entrance along the
driveway to the house on both sides of the way are
planted some Monterey cypress trees. As will be
obsei-ved by the picture, they resemble square blocks.
This is the way the trees are trimmed and is purely a
matter of taste. These indeciduous trees can be cut
into most any shape or design desired. The grounds
also contain choice fruit and ornamental trees.
Plate No. 23.— \V has been the earnest desire of the
promoter of the Olivina, to produce delicate table
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTY.
wines, of a character of excellence to compare favor-
ably with the renowned vintages of Europe. How far
the planting of foreign vines and researches in the
vine lands of Europe, supplemented with fine formations
of soil and a perfect climate, with the generous sun-
shine during the ripening period, have contributed to
this attainment, can best be determined by a study of
the several types of the Olivina vintages. These vines
will be listed at the Viticultural Restaurant and Cafe', in
the California State Building in the Columbian Expo-
sition.
The Olivina Pavilion will be located in the Wine
Department of the Horticultural Hall, where connois-
seurs, interested parties, and the trade generally, are
requested to introduce themselves and test the qualities
of the Olivina wines and brandies.
Plate No. 26. — Represents the home and vineyard
of James Concannon. This place is situated one and
one-half miles southeast from the town of Li\ermore, in
Livermore Valley. The farm contains 47 acres, mostly
in vines. The kinds of grapes raised are Corignan,
Matars, Grenache, Zinfandel, Burger, FoUe, and
Reanche. A few acres only are devoted to other fruits.
The average yield of grapes is about three and one-
half tons per acre. Mr. Concannon manufactures
wine from his and others' grapes to the amount of fifty
to sixty thousand gallons annually. His wines being
of excellent quality, he supplies a great deal to the
local retail trade, as well as to the wholesale. Mr.
Concannon commenced here nine years ago, and,
with care and enterprise, he has built up a large trade
in grape cuttings. Four years ago his first crop of
cuttings amounted to one hundred thousand. Now
he sells one million annually, mostly to Mexico. The
residence is a snug cottage with a good-sized wine
cellar.
Plate No. 26. — In the beautiful city of Alameda,
which is situated near Oakland, is the home of E. L.
Scheffelin. It is on Central Avenue. It is one of many
beautiful places in this city of homes. There are larger
and more imposing buildings than this one, but it is
of modernarchitecture,tvvo stories, frame, finished com-
plete, and contains all that makes a home substantial
as well as ornamental. Thegrounds are nicely laid out
with cement walks and bordered with all the choicest
plants and trees that abound in this semi-tropical
climate.
Plate No. 2j. — Situated near the village of Niles is
the country residence of Loring Pickering, as the
picture represents, a very comfortable two-story frame
building with outbuildings. The grounds are taste-
ully laid out with a variety of flowers and many of
the trees peculiar to this climate. In the rear is a
large orchard of fruit trees, vineyards, etc. Mr. Picker-
ing is an old citizen and representative man of Cali-
fornia, and has long been identified with and engaged
in journalism, being editor and publisher of the San
Francisco Call. Together with his family he spends
the summer months in this rural home, returning to
his palatial home in San Francisco for the winter.
RESIDENCE .\V.Yi FARM OF J.^MES SHINN, ESQ.
Plate No. 2y. — This farm, near Niles, Washington
Township, is mainly a rich alluvial soil, made by the
deposits from the Alameda Creek, and is what is usu-
ally described as sandy loam. This soil is of the type
of the best fruit and vegetable lands of California,
and is justly famed for its ease of cultivation and its
remarkable richness in all the elements that are needed
for plant growth. In fact, all of this land has been in.
cultivation for about forty years, and while it does not,
of course, produce in the prodigal abundance that it
did when it was virgin soil, it still does, without fertil-
izing or much change of crops, produce in such large
quantities that, should I give them, people who are
not used to California soils would not believe.
There are over ten thousand fruit trees on the ranch,
principally cherry, apricot, peach, almond, pear, apple,
prune, orange, walnut, in about the order named.
There are also a few trees of the following varieties, —
lemon, filbert, fig, olive, and pecan, of the latter of
which there is a very fine avenue of trees fifty to sev-
enty-five feet high, though only fifteen years old.
There are a few carob trees in bearing, which produce
the "husks" that the "prodigal son" is said to have
lived upon while feeding the swine. Then there are the
pistachio nut trees, which bear the nuts from which the
"green" ice cream is flavored. There are jujube shrubs,
loquats, date palms, fan palms, shaddock, honey locust
and many other kinds of fruit and shade trees and
ornamental shrubs.
To Eastern people, and those who do not know any
climate except that near the coast, one of the most in-
teresting things of the region in and about Niles is its
climate. While only thirty miles from San Francisco and
the ocean coast, it is so mild and warm that citrus fruits,
and, as a matter of fact, all fruits and plants that are not
strictly tropical, can be grown to perfection. Indeed,
some winters are so mild that there are hardly any
nights cold enough for even white frosts, while the
summers are seldom uncomfortably warm.
Plate No. 28. — In the little village of Irvington there
is one ideal residence and grounds, though small. It
contains some very handsome ornaments. It is the
home of H. Crowell. The trees here represent an
62
ILLUSTRATED ALBUM OF ALAMEDA COUNTV.
orange grove' of good-sized bearing trees. It is not
common to find in Alameda County many orange
orchards so thrifty as this one is. In fact, they are not
very plentiful in the county. . It shows what can be
raised in this warm valley, with proper cultivation.
The residence is a two-story frame building, modern
in architecture, and a beautiful home.
Plate No. 28. — Represents the residence of H. Curt-
ner. This homestead is situated at Warm Springs.
The ranch consists of three thousand acres, and pro-
duces a variety of crops, consisting of barley, hay,
potatoes, fruit, etc. Barley yields forty bushels per
acre, hay, two tons per acre. Thirty thousand sacks
of potatoes were raised last year, 1892. From ten
to fifteen thousand sacks of early peas are raised
annuall)'. Almonds and othfer nuts and peaches are
the principal products of the farm aside from the
home buildings, surrounded on all sides with fruit and
ornamental trees. There are good and substantial"
outbuildings necessary for farm purposes.
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